I originally wrote this blog on November 22, 2019. I chose not to release it at the time because I was still uncertain about the changes I was preparing to make in my life. However, recently, while going through my blog files I came across it and decided to make a few changes to the content and release it now. It feels relevant for today as we have had time (lots of it, in some cases) to look at the lives we were living and make decisions about what is next or more to the point what is important and what doesn’t matter as much anymore.
It is customary to make New Year Resolutions and in many ways this blog was just such a thing. However, our current reality has taken on a much more meaningful reason for change. Resolutions tend to come and go. The healthy diet, exercise routine, quitting smoking, spending more time with family and friends, keeping our home neat, clean and organized, paying off all our debt, going to church or praying daily are just some common examples of things we plan on changing as a new year arrives. But, resolutions seem to get lost in the shuffle of the New Year and before long we are on a vacation bought on our credit card, eating poorly while we cancel our gym membership, surrounded by files, papers and dust.
But this year….oh, this year. It has been a doozy!
Doozy is defined as: something outstanding or unique of its kind.
So, I must ask with everything that has happened, have you taken this doozy of a time to make changes in your life or are you still waiting?
I’d love to hear any comments you may have about letting go during this new normal we are now calling our lives and please enjoy the blog. I hope it connects to you.
Blog…Original Date: November 22, 2019.
Are you thinking about letting go of anyone or anything in the New Year? I’ve written before about how I take stock of my life in the last quarter of the year and this year is no different. Actually, it is…this year instead of thinking as much about what I will be taking on I am deep in thought about what I need to let go of - what doesn’t serve me as much anymore and what areas of my life have I held onto longer than I should or maybe just the right amount of time and now it is time to say goodbye.
Is there a best time to re-evaluate our choices and gracefully walk away?
Even when we know it’s time to let go, it can still hurt deeply. I am in that phase of knowing it’s time and feeling the pain of letting go. While I write this tears run down my face as I think about saying goodbye to a dream that never fully blossomed and saying goodbye to the people that crossed my path during this extraordinary season of discovery and growth in my life. However, I also know that over time I will look back and know that this season has ended when it needed to and in order to contribute fully I needed to move on and to move forward.
Are you considering what you need to let go of in order to be fully present in your life and continue to expand? Is this the year? I think of it like taking a deep breath in and waiting for the right moment to release it. We spend our lives expanding and contracting. We bring in the breath of new life and possibilities and we release that breath as we prepare to inhale the next realm of opportunity. The original breath has left its mark and helped us to live, while the new breath refreshes us.
Expand, Contract, Expand again.
We could be talking about letting go of a person, who doesn’t support or welcome the growth you are looking for in life, it may be a habit that no longer serves a purpose or is detrimental to your physical and/or mental health, it could be a job that holds you back from your desires or is not moving you toward your purpose or a feeling like anger or resentment that fills you with negativity and physically is eating away at you. No matter what it is - it will most likely feel like a loss as you let go. Yes, even letting go of anger and resentment can feel like a loss because these feelings are serving the purpose of protecting you from vulnerability. Yet, it is often true that as one thing dies something else emerges. I think about the fires in California and Australia. It is extremely sad to see all the destruction and devastation. However, when we look at the land from the previous years fires it is once again growing new vegetation. The world knows how to replant itself, replenish and reimagine the next phase of life.
With that picture in mind, I see our next season, as one part of our lives dies another is born. To prepare for the loss, the sadness, the fear of the unknown, the uncomfortable feeling of saying goodbye we need to have a plan of action. Truly coming to terms with why we are letting go, how we will do it and when we will let go is the first step. We then need a solid plan to stay the course after we make the decision, so when back tracking seems like a good idea we can reflect on exactly why we needed to move forward.
If step one is Letting Go, then step two is Figuring out what is next and step three is putting together a plan.
Step One: Let Go
Step Two: Figure Out What Is Next
Step Three: Set up SMART(ER) Goals
S-Specific, M-Measurable, A-Attainable, R-Realistic, T-Time Sensitive and you could add ER, E-Exciting and R-Risky.
As you take your journey this year, I highly recommend Daniel Harkavy and Michael Hyatt’s book Living Forward and Michael Hyatt’s Your Best Year Ever. I also highly recommend This Year I Will…by M.J. Ryan. These books give wonderful insight to help us determine where we want to go and how to stay the course once we make the decision.
You could also hire a certified life coach as well. You know where to find one….
Wishing you Good Health, Peace and Graceful Living,
Lorraine
