Let it go.

Three simple words that are easier said than done.

Believe me, I get it. I speak from experience. I’ve been known to hold a grudge, rehash past events or dwell on something that happened to me.

Maybe, you have too.

Is there something in your life that’s driving you crazy? Are you feeling stressed about a particular situation? Are you agitated, annoyed, or overwhelmed about a mistake you made?

If you are, it might be time to just give yourself permission to let it go.

Seriously.

Whatever you have going on in your life that you find particularly bothersome, try to make peace with it and move on.

Put it behind you.

Release it.

Holding on to negative thoughts isn’t doing you any good. I’ll tell you a little secret, constantly obsessing about whatever it is and continuously talking or complaining about it doesn’t help either. In fact, it makes things worse.

Did you handle something poorly?

Make a mistake?

Maybe a friend said something rude?

It isn’t hard to find things each day that could easily annoy us, if we focused on it.

Most of the time, when we experience a negative situation, we don’t just live it once. We replay it over and over again in our minds. Maybe, we think if we keep obsessing about it, the outcome will change. Perhaps, it’s our way of trying to control something we don’t like. Or, it’s just a bad habit and hard to break the cycle. 

Remember, it truly doesn’t help you, or anyone around you, to continuously complain or talk about something that has happened. It just keeps whatever it is top of mind, causes you to fill your head with negativity and brings you down.

The past is the past. What happened has happened. Accept it and intentionally decide to let it go.

If you can do something about a particular situation, do it, but if you can’t, then move on.

I was talking to a friend recently, and she was complaining about something another person said to her two weeks ago. TWO WEEKS AGO. I truly couldn’t understand why we were even discussing what had occured, because there wasn’t anything we could do about it. I was trying to be patient and knew she wanted to chat about it. However, after twenty minutes of hearing about this particular subject, I was honest with her.

“What’s done is done,” I said, “It just is what it is. Talking about this isn’t going to change the outcome or make you feel any better. Dwelling on it isn’t helping you either.” She laughed, and we moved on to another topic.

This conversation made me think about how often we unintentionally bring negativity into our lives.

I encourage you to pay attention to this.

Try not to hang on to past events, replay conversations over and over again in your mind, or complain about what you feel has gone wrong in your life. It’s OK if you’ve made a mistake. Remember, you aren’t perfect.

Instead, look for all the positives in your life. Count your blessings. Focus on the good.

Pay attention to what you think about. When you notice yourself going down a negative path, try to replace these thoughts with something positive. You’ll be happier, calmer, less annoyed and more fun to be around. And, who wouldn’t want that?

Find meaning each day,

Dara