“Be strong enough to let go, and wise enough to wait for what you deserve.” – unknown

Letting go of something you have cared about, but recognize is hurting you, is never easy.  Whether it’s a toxic relationship (or just a relationship that is keeping you from moving forward), or a bad habit (especially an addictive one), or even a favorite pair of jeans that cuts off your circulation every time you wear it – letting go of something when we care about it is never easy, even when we know it’s damaging us. But for us to progress in life and become all we wish to be, we have to recognize that letting these things go is the only way to get where we need to be.

Letting go can happen in more than one way – sometimes letting go might entail cutting off all access to something harmful (such as when someone is fighting an addiction to a harmful substance; sometimes letting go might entail staying in a situation you are unable to extricate yourself from but choosing to let go of any feelings of hurt or anger so you can focus your efforts on being your best self (such as a toxic work environment where you need to stay until you can find a new job), and other times letting go might entail choosing to physically remove yourself from a harmful situation entirely (such as in a toxic relationship). Only you can determine what the appropriate way to let go is for your circumstance.

But the one thing we shouldn’t do is kid ourselves into thinking we are somehow being strong by doing nothing. Doing nothing doesn’t take strength…it’s when we are willing to do something to change things for the better that we are being strong. We cannot open life up to all that we deserve if we are unwilling to let go of things that hurt us or hold us back from reaching our full potential. And we cannot become so afraid of the unknown that we cling to the familiar when it is damaging us.

“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar” – Thich Nhat Hanh

I’ve been through the toxic relationships and the ones that held me back, I’ve had the bad habits and the pair of jeans that cuts off my circulation when I wear it, and I know how hard it was to let go of them because I wasn’t sure that something better would ever exist. But each time I have been willing to let something negative go I have found, without fail, letting go has opened the door for better things to come into my life.

Each time we find ourselves in those circumstances we know are causing damage to our own self-worth, or which are holding us back from achieving our full potential, we need to remind ourselves to be strong enough to let go, not allow ourselves to hold onto something damaging out of fear of the unknown, and always believe that as long as we keep doing our best that there are going to be much better things ahead.

Have an amazing day!

~Amy Rees Anderson