Let your leaves fall

Letting go of the destructive and unnecessary

I love watching the leaves slowly turn colors. It has been very windy the last weeks and many leaves have already fallen off. They don’t hurry, they don’t procrastinate, they don’t struggle to let go. They do what they are supposed to do at the right time of the year. What if a tree didn’t want to let go of its leaves? It wouldn't take long for the leaves to rot, and the tree wouldn't have a chance to recover during winter so that new leaves could grow when it gets warmer again. The tree wouldn’t be healthy.

In the spirit of autumn I encourage you to let go of what’s no longer serving you. How would it feel like to let go of distractions? Of unnecessary materialistic items? Of destructive expectations and ideals? Of being busy all the time? Of the constant worry? Of always being in control? Of wanting others to act a certain way?

Wouldn't that be liberating?

Sometimes it doesn’t feel encouraging when it’s so hard to change a single small habit. It takes time and maybe you need to fail a couple of times before you get into it. We need to recognize that these habits are wired into our brains. We’ve acted this way for probably a very long time. All habits and all changes take time. There's nothing wrong with that and there's no need to feel ashamed about it. It's just how the human brain works.

From time to time, it's also worth considering the bigger stuff in life to see if they're still serving us the way we need them to. For example, if your job is affecting your spirit in a negative way and draining you. I know these can be hard things to go through. Sometimes it takes some time to get out of toxic situations. Don't blame or shame yourself for not recognizing and letting them move out of your life earlier.

Even though it's important to think through the big stuff too, I truly believe that letting go of small things can be a great step forward. Especially if those are things we do every day. Those small actions that almost go unnoticed, but have a tremendous impact on our mood and health.

I know change can be difficult, even when it comes to those tiny actions that seem so easy to change. When you’ve done something for so long that you can’t even remember how it all started, it can take some time to get rid of that pattern. Once you do though, it will become your new normal and doing that old habit will seem somewhat strange and off-putting.

To get there we must first of all make a conscious decision about what we want to let go of. I believe that having a strong "why" is very important for us to let go and embrace something new. It's easy to overlook this step because of course you know why you would like to let go of something and change. However, indulging in your "why" is what will keep you on track and motivated.

Let's say you want to let go of unnecessary stress in your life. Getting heavily invested in any type of information about why stress is destructive for your body and how living stress-free is healing, can be enormously helpful to keep you on track. This includes any type of book, article, documentary, podcast or anything you can find in the media that supports living a slow and calm lifestyle and getting rid of stress from your life.

This way you know your "why", you know the scientific research behind your "why" and maybe you’ve even found people who are living the way you want to live. The repetition of the "why" is going to make you stick to it. If you stay focused on what type of media you're consuming, it will also probably be easier to get back on track again after experiencing a setback.

Personally, the last few weeks I’ve been starting to let go of always having long-term plans (usually unrealistic ones too). Instead, I'm having things I’d like to do or change, but not giving them any specific time frame. I’m also trying to being more flexible to not indulge in those activities if I discover I no longer want to.

I’ve quit being a part of media that supports drastic and dramatic changes and sticking to something all day every day, no matter what. I realized that this didn't support me, at least not at this time. Instead, I’ve been investing in media that supports more of a surrendering approach to life and making the best of our days with what we have. I've already fallen back into old thought patterns and habits (multiple times) but I get back on track every time and I’m looking forward to seeing what this brings me in the future.

What supports you in the art of letting go? What is something you’d like to let go of? Or is there something you’re working on letting go of at the moment? I’d love to know!