Feelings, grudges, memories, experiences, those are all things we hold onto from the past. We do, for the feeling of fulfillment it grants us. We are comforted by the familiarity and justification we get. But in reality, holding on to the past is unprofitable, it holds you back from achieving your true potential. By releasing your old story, you will create a better one. There are three main things you should strive to let go of: story, busyness and stuff. By letting go, you will cultivate and strengthen your inner stability.

Letting go of Story

We are fond of using the past to justify our current decision-making, making it difficult for us to let go. The harm someone caused you years ago affects whether or not you go to that party, that meeting, that family gathering, whether you’ll date, trust, etc. These memories now justify all your actions. By being unable to leave the past in the past, the past becomes part of your story and works against you, making sure you never grow beyond what happened. Your story is what you tell yourself to justify your actions. For example, you had a bad relationship, and you use this bad experience to justify why you won’t get into another relationship. You shouldn’t let that experience influence your current path because you can’t let it go. Rather, you should see in that experience the motivation to move one step ahead, to have a better experience.

It is in our nature, as humans, to blame others and not ourselves when the facts are unpleasant or heartbreaking. That is why we find it hard to let go of someone we love, but easy to blame an ex for a breakup, or blame some other person for something bad that happened. What we usually fail to realize is that it is our energy that is required to stoke and maintain the fire of blame. The person we blame is gone but we keep the blaze burning at our own emotional expense.

Letting go of busyness

I guess we are all looking for ways to be less “busy”. Most people seem to feel stretched with the current overload of information, the musts, the shoulds, the never ending to do lists. What if we could just commit to less? Try to simplify your life so that you have time for the thing that really matter to you. What is the first thing you can let go of now? Remember that a busy person is not necessarily productive. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Never confuse motion with action.” By letting go of a “busy” life, you make room for a full and better one.

Letting go of stuff

Most of our acquisitions are fueled by the hope of finding happiness by having these things. We need to tether ourselves to a strong inner practice that tunes us to the happiness we get from ourselves. By continuing to search for happiness outside of ourselves, we will never be satisfied. A new car, new house, new relationship won’t make you happy. You need to be happy as a person, happy from within. Let go of thinking that external acquisitions could make you happy. You have the potential to make yourself happy.

Letting go can be a tough challenge but we must all overcome the past if we are to enjoy happiness. Bad things happened, and you can’t undo what is already done, so why continue perpetuating it? Face what has happened, accept that it can’t be undone or changed then move on. By moving on, new doors will open, better opportunities will arise. Even if you have new sad experiences, they’re new, you are moving forward; you’re not held back by your past.