Whether it's physical stuff, relationships, or old beliefs, sometimes it seems as if our lives are a repetitive process of let go of this, let go of that, let go of this other thing.
It's actually not a repeat of the same thing. It's a peeling back of the layers of the onion. Each time you peel back one layer, reach one level of the game, there's another level, another layer to conquer.
Remember those racing video games in arcades? You do the dirt bike race, and you win! Yay! Then, the next course is in the Alps, and you come in second. Yay for you! Now onto the next course. And so it goes.
You see the course in front of you, but that particular finish line is all you see. You don't see the next course with its finish line flag, and the one after that, and the one after that.
So, you reach the end of this race, and there's another one. Well, to embrace this next race, you have to let go of all the hangers-on from the first one.
In my second year of college, I went into individual and group therapy to deal with horrendous childhood abuse. Boom. Done. That's handled. Well, 14 years after that found me reaching out to a therapist because issues had come up. "But I already dealt with this 14 years ago!" I wailed.
No, honestly, I hadn't. Fourteen years ago I had dealt with whatever the issues were present then. After subsequent peeling of the layers, there were new issues, and those were the ones I had to deal with, even though it looked like it was the same root cause, my crappy childhood.
Let's look to a more positive note, beyond dealing with past trauma. As a business owner, you're constantly evolving and growing. You get clearer on your ideal client. You embrace authentic marketing. You say no to non-ideal clients. You choose to do only your Zone of Genius work. You close your eyes and move toward your Big Dream goals, gulping down waves of fear with each step you take.
One of the things I say constantly is that owning your own business is the most in-depth personal development course you'll ever take.
If you want to thrive in business, then you'll need to let go constantly. Here are some things to consider letting go of.
- Playing small
- Worrying about what other people will think
- Not asking for money or the full value of your services because that's somehow wrong
- Seeing being of service and making money as at odds
- Feeling like a fraud
- Believing that you can't do marketing, or sales, or networking,
- Doing work or making agreements that you know from the outset don't feel right
- Feeling like you're inadequate and never doing enough
- Putting up with over-demanding clients, under-responsive team members, and unsupportive spouse or family members because you think that's as good as it's going to get
What do you need to let go of? I would love to hear your real thoughts and comments down below. Let's slough off this crap that doesn't serve us any longer and embrace the new normal.
