This month my topic is about letting go of old intentions to do something that no longer serves us. You will learn that it is okay to let go of potential good in our lives for other potential good to come in.
There seem to be two types of people. There are those who have ideas and projects that come to their minds, and they may start working on some of them. However, they move on with little concern, if something else comes their way that they value more.
Then there are those who have ideas and projects that they want to implement, and it is important to these people to bring their projects to completion. It is as though the idea or project, once the person commits to it, is added to a list. If this type of person begins a project, the task can take on a life of its own. The person will work at it, even if they find that their efforts were better placed elsewhere.
Today I am speaking mainly to this second person, who wants to complete things. However, if you are the type who moves on easily and you have anything unfinished in your life that bothers you, I am speaking to you also.
How do we deal with things that we never seem to get to or never get complete? There are several strategies, including prioritizing and completing them, doing the things in a less thorough fashion, and getting some help from others. But today I want to talk to you about releasing or letting go.
I think one of the difficulties in releasing an old, incomplete task is that we want to have the potential good that we think would come from our efforts. Let me give you an example. I once gave workshops to grow my practice. I had several consistent places where I gave workshops, but I wanted to expand. I compiled a long list of venues to call to see if they wanted me to speak. I called some of them and sent out proposals. These efforts resulted in a few nibbles but few scheduled workshops. Still, I had a strong desire to complete the whole list. I thought, if I could find some additional places from this list, then I could help more people and grow my practice, but I will never know, unless I do the whole list.
Yet I started to find that writing articles and building a referral network were more fun and served me better than cold calling venues. How did I shift my efforts to something that was serving me more when I had this drive to complete the whole list?
The secret lay in the idea that it is okay to release potential good for other potential good that may come in. Certainly, there was potential good in my completing the list. But there also was potential good in me writing articles and building a referral network. With limited time, which do I choose to do? Although I was not complete with the list, it was okay to release it for other potential good to come in.
This way of thinking made it so much easier to release my previous intention where I thought there would be benefits—if I just think that there may be greater benefits that will come in if I just open up the space.
This idea goes beyond letting go of old things we planned or wanted to do. It can be about material things in our lives, about behaviors we have, or even about thoughts or ideas that no longer serve us. It can even be about a person who has departed or friends who no longer fit who we are. Releasing these things or people, even if we think they provide the potential for some good, can provide the space for other good to come in.
This is Glenn Stevenson with Self Sense Counseling and Coaching. Until next time, I wish you the ability and the wisdom to release the old and let new good come into your life.