Letting go can feel incredibly difficult. But yet, it’s one of the most important things you can do in your life to start leveling up fast. Many people find it challenging to let go because they are so connected (from an emotional standpoint) to a past that no longer exists or serves them. In this blog, I’m going to explain why you need to let go to level up and how to do it. But a quick story…

Cleaning Out the Basement

In 2012, my wife and I purchased the home where we currently reside. At the time, it was just a concrete slab. However, with enough love and work, we turned that part of the home into the basement area. And for a lot of people (myself included), the basement becomes somewhat of a storage space. You just dump all your boxes and junk in there.  

So, that’s exactly what we did. But then, around 2018, we decided that we were going to finish the basement, which meant we had to go through all that junk. As a result, we went through all the boxes. One of the boxes was filled with a bunch of discontinued gaming systems from the 2010s. Other boxes I had were labeled “important cables,” yet nothing in those boxes actually worked. I also had boxes with Bible, university, and college texts and notes, etc. 

 The funny thing is that when we took all this junk out of the basement, we knew we had to get rid of this old stuff to make room for the new. But what was interesting was how hard it was for me to let go of all those things I had accumulated over the years. 

 And it got me thinking about how so often we find it hard to move forward into the future because of what we’re carrying around from the past. And this personal example can also include situations within a professional context as well. 

Understanding When to Let Go

The point I’m trying to make is that life is often about knowing what to hold onto and what to let go of. The thing that got you where you are today is most likely not going to be what gets you to where you want to go in the future. So, how does this relate to you and your business? Well, we need to let go of wishy-washy, irresolute plans and efforts when it comes to our businesses. 

So often, we think that we can get massive business results by treating our entrepreneurial journey as if it’s a hobby. If you want to treat it like a hobby, that’s perfectly fine. But you can’t expect to get big results with little effort. You can’t reap a harvest if you don’t sow the seeds. 

And this is a critical aspect of becoming successful in business. We have to let go of the old ways we’ve shown up if we want new levels of success in our lines of work. And it truly is as simple and straightforward as that. 

The Maritime Practice That Will Help You Thrive in Business

There’s a practice in shipping—cruise ships, cargo ships, vessels, etc.—called Jetsam where they throw cargo overboard intentionally, in distress, to lighten the vessel. I want you to imagine your entrepreneurial journey as a ship voyaging through the seas. And along the way, you encounter different storms at various levels of intensity. 

Some storms are mild and you can simply wait them out. However, other storms are so severe that they compromise your ship’s ability to stay afloat. The result? You actually have to throw some stuff overboard. The point of all this is to understand that surviving the horrible weather is not actually due to your survivability in the storm, but rather, it’s the result of what you choose to hang onto in the storm. 

So, the pain you experienced during the past storms of your life is most likely not due to the storms themselves. It is most likely due to what you refused to throw over (or let go of) during those storms. 

Final Thoughts

So often, leveling up in life requires us to let go of things that may have served us. For this reason, it’s challenging to rise above, as we as humans have a natural tendency to want to latch onto things of the past. The good news is that you can change. You can improve. And you can let go of the past to embrace the future. And we at Flourishing are here to help.

Our team of experienced coaches, facilitators, and professionals is here for you. We are a tribe, a community of like-minded people here to support one another. If that sounds like something you want to be a part of, we’d love to have you. Contact us today to see how you can become a part of a thriving community that will help you flourish in both business and in life. 

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