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I have a toddler who’s recently discovered Disney; so there’s a lot of songs from Moana and Frozen playing in my house these days. I’d be lying if I said it’s not a little annoying; even as a kid, I didn’t like Disney. But. I have to admit, now that I’m so exposed to it I realize there are some great themes that come up in these films.
Now that I have Let it Go stuck in your head at the mention of Frozen, I’ll continue. (You’re welcome).
With just about every client I get to work with, I explore the idea of letting go; letting go of the life you thought you should/wanted/needed to lead, and making space for the life that’s waiting for you. The life that wasn’t at all what you expected 5 or 10 years ago, but the life that’s demanding your attention and acceptance right now.
So often, it’s not even really the change we’re facing that’s the problem itself; it’s our stuckness in the idea of the life we thought we were living or headed towards. Sometimes there’s a grieving process that comes along with this work; grieving the easy things that came along with the life path we thought we were on. Grieving the relationships we might lose when we embark upon the new phase of life.
And this is where Elsa’s refrain comes in to offer some sage advice; Let it Go. Let go of the toxic grip of what you were CERTAIN your life has to look like. Detach from the should/wanted/needed view of your life, to allow some space in your mind to hear whatever that inner voice keeps trying to tell you. Allow for the possibility that things aren’t working out the way you thought they should, or expected because there’s something different and more fulfilling coming up. Maybe taking that scary chance on a big life change is going to actually make you feel infinitely more YOU. Maybe you’re gonna find yourself a whole lot more inspired, and less anxious or depressed when you do it. Maybe you’ll realize after you’ve moved into wherever life’s taken you, that NOW you’re actually happy, whereas you only thought you were before.
But until you let go of the life you thought you were supposed to lead, you’re not going to create the space for that other awesome opportunity to emerge.
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Previously published here and reprinted with the author’s permission and is republished on Medium.
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