As we travel along this road called life, we accumulate a lot of baggage. Baggage that weigh us down and prevent us from enjoying the journey. These baggages are in the form of failures and struggles in the past, unhealthy relationships, resentments, hurt, negative experiences, expectations from others, fears, insecurities, guilt, grief, regrets etc. Even though we know that all these weigh heavily on our shoulders and that they are holding us back, yet we cling to them, sometimes desperately.
I have carried some heavy baggage for a while. I have lived in the past for a long time. I have nurtured the hurt and resentments so much that they made me bitter. During a chat with a friend, I was going on and on about the past unhappy incidents and experiences. She listened to me for a while and then just said, “Can you stop living in the past and let go of all the anger and resentment?” I looked at her incredulously. I knew she was tired of my whining but I saw a lot of merit in her words. I consciously stopped myself from thinking and talking about the things that pulled me down. The harder I tried, better was my state of mind.
Of course, it was not an overnight change and it was tough and challenging to let go of the past, but I can say with conviction that the benefits outweigh the effort, truly.
Today, I’d like to share 7 reasons to let go, which I have learnt from my experience.
Reason #1 : You’ll Find Peace – The biggest benefit of letting go is the peace of mind which reflects in every sphere of life.
Reason #2 : You’ll Create Space for Something New and Better – You cant move ahead, if you keep looking back. You will stumble and falter and miss the new opportunities that would be coming your way.
Reason #3 : You’ll Experience Freedom – If you were to hold a heavy bag on your head for long and then you were to keep it down, how relieved you would be. It’s the same with letting go of baggages and burdens.
Reason #4 : You’ll Bounce Back from Adversities Easily – You have been there and done that. Whenever the new hurt, failure or negative experience finds a way in your life, you know how to put it behind you.
Reason #5 : You’ll Grow as a Person – The past experiences help you to learn, grow and mature. It also gives you new understandings and perspectives on life. You will grow up to be a strong person.
Reason #6 : You’ll Learn to be Grateful – When you are letting go of the past, you are accepting it and are grateful for the learnings you have had from the good as well as the painful experiences of life. You realize that these experiences have added value in your life and shaped you as a person.
Reason #7 : You’ll Learn to Love and Value Yourself– Letting go of the past makes you realize that you can’t go back and change the past, but you can choose not to suffer now, and take responsibility for yourself and your future.
Letting go is not a one time affair, with a permanent results, but a constant state of being. Letting go is not ‘getting rid of’ or ‘throwing away’ of the past but putting it aside and recognizing that we are no longer attached to it.
Letting go is about moving forward with hope, anticipation and excitement for positive and new things in life. So cheers to freedom, peace, contentment and love.
Linking this to the second edition of BAR-A-THON by Blog-A-Rhythm
Theme – Seven
Day 6
23 Responses
This is another hard task – to completely let go of the past. Most days I don’t let the past pull me down but on days that I’m unhappy or sad the whole thing comes crashing onto me and makes me feel worse. That means I haven’t really let go, right?
“Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.” — Ann Landers
Yes letting go makes way for something better in your life but its easier said than done. You rightly put it , takes one step at a time and its a process which takes a lot of time and effort on our part.
Another thought provoking post. Yes we need to let go in order to go ahead. I too have found myself bogged down by bitterness and memories that got me nowhere.
Great advice and tips, Shilpa! How many of us drag all that heavy emotional baggage around on our shoulders! I know I do! It’s so freeing when I make the choice to let go and look on the positive side instead of wallowing in negativity, guilt and regret which I often do if I’m not careful.
Thanks for the reminders about the importance of letting go!
agree with all of them…
Letting go can be so liberating and cathartic. But sometimes we hold on to the baggages of the past spoiling our present. I know it’s easier said than done, but once one starts practising the art of letting go, life becomes a joy to live and experience.
“Let go” has been my mantra for life and I try and live by it as much as I can, even when it means small day to day challenges that come my way.
http://natashamusing.com/2017/06/lord-files-barathon/
And yes I forgot to say, this is a must read post for everyone. And a reminder to live life joyously
Excellent lessons Shilpa… To lead a cheerful and a positive life it is important that we don’t carry extra baggage from the past. That will only weigh us down.
you know what sucks? I did this a few years ago.. I got out of the mental rut I had dug myself in. And then, again this year, I fell into it. And its harder the second time around…
Shilpa, this post is something we all need to read and re-read every other day, and that’s because we tend to forget how valuable it is to stop looking at ‘what was’ and look at ‘what is’!
Wonderful lesson, indeed! Let go of the past so you make space for the present and the beautiful future that is waiting to unfold!
So true, Shilpa. But sometimes, it just gets so difficult to let go. I am also consciously trying not to accumulate hurt and to learn to let go for my sake.
Very thoughtful and an inspirational post. Its right that it feels relieved and relaxed when you let go of the past experiences that were bitter. Leave the past and live in present.
Great post! When I was growing up and even today, I am a conflict avoiding person. So I don’t know how, letting go comes very naturally to me. I forget first and then forgive. It has made my life easier 🙂
‘You will create space for something new and better’ hit me hard and that thought is very persuasive and enticing. Something that might urge someone to really let go. 🙂 An impressive list.
amazing points, but I still say that it’s so hard to really ‘let go’
But, once you do its all for good.
Its not easy to let go, especially when it keeps lingering on the mind and feels heavy in the heart.
A lovely post though
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Letting go is one of difficult things to do in life; but not impossible. Human as we are; we tend to remember everything in detail and the memory is attached to the feelings:) thats why when we recall and remember the event we express it with emotions of anger, hatred, regret etc… practicing mindfulness and spending time everyday before we retire to bed with positive thoughts, forgiving and sending vibes of peace to our past helps us to let go… Its also nice to make a ritual everyday to be grateful for everything that happens in our lives, surrender all the pain, sorrow, sadness, anxieties to the divine and rest peacefully, acknowledging the good and hoping for the best. Thank you for sharing such a meaningful and relevant post.
This is so true! I would add letting go of the past lets us truly live in the moment, and enjoy it fully. Sometimes a certain occasion or person in my life reminds me of the past and when I focus on that instead of the present, I miss out on what’s happening here and now.
Love this, Shilpa. Like you, I go over the past, but also get anxious about future events. To be present. Tolle speaks well of this, as you quoted. 🙂
It is one of the hardest things to do, but also the most productive and useful. I’m practicing letting go, and it has changed me as a person.
HI Shilpa,
I am Nilesh Sharma, an amateur blogger who started blogging as an experiment. Somehow it worked and now it has become my second profession 🙂
Read your blog post and felt connected. It was easy to read and straight fro the heart. It takes a lot of courage to “LET GO” and I am glad you did that. Looking forward to connect with you…. in the meanwhile Happy Blogging 🙂
Sometimes letting go is the best thing to do! Read my blog ‘Let go’
https://believestrong.wordpress.com/2019/05/21/let-go/