Letting go, to let the light of happiness inside us

Everyone wants to be happy in life, but is happiness the easiest to attain? The obvious answer is no! It is not easy to attain. In other words, it depends on how you want to see everything in life. It depends on your outlook on life, how you try to find positivity in everything you come across. You cannot find it if you do not learn to live in the moment, to let go of things that do not nurture you. Altering the way you think is difficult but not unachievable. Optimism and positive thinking pave an easy path on the way to happiness.

Source: Gymnast Mid-Air by Wix

One step towards learning to find happiness is by letting go of the various things that hold us back. Let us look into ways to build optimism in your life by letting go:-

Let go of the past – We often let our past control our present. We hold on to the pain, hurt, sadness, and anger we felt in our past and let it control the way we decide. It is crucial to learn from past mistakes, but holding onto the negative feelings without forgiving others doesn’t let you be happy. It is equivalent to drinking a glass full of toxins, which slowly starts affecting you as a whole.

Let go of overthinking – Sometimes people love to overthink the same things again and again until it starts to tear them up inside. Overthinking about the same thing is disruptive for our mental health. So always try your best not to ruminate over the same things.

Let go of hatred – Always make it a point to avoid being judgmental about others. Holding onto anger and hurt if anyone does wrong towards you is easy but forgiveness is liberating. It seems easy to say rather than practice, as building up hatred and resentment for others is the easiest to do, but it does more harm to your mental health than anything else. Learn to forgive and practice gratitude.

Let go of clutter – Some people love to build up clutter in their life by holding onto old and useless objects that they think might be of some value in the future. Learn to let go of that old cologne bottle and the old clothes that you feel you might use someday, which is never going to happen. Always clear clutter in and around you, then you will start feeling good slowly.

Let go of toxic relationships – There are people who create constant toxicity in our life. It can be in the form of name-calling, trying to make your self-esteem low by always criticizing you and by intimidation. Constructive criticism is healthy, but if it starts negatively affecting you then it is not suitable for your growth. Learn to let go of such toxic people who drain you of all your energy and challenge your ability to think positively about yourself.

Let go of comparisons – People often find the grass is greener on the other side and love to compare their life to those of others around them. This is unfair as you never really know the hardships people face in their day to day life. Just because someone seems joyful whenever you meet them doesn’t mean they are happy in their life. Always understand that you are unique and are beyond comparisons with anyone else.

Let go of the need to fit in – Do not let anything cage you mentally. You are who you are and learn to accept yourself with all your flaws and strength. Never try to fit in and accept yourself for who you are. Do not always follow the crowd and be the voice you want to be known.

Let go of the need to be validated – You do not need to be validated by others for who you are. Happiness doesn’t come from the perfect life or the perfect size. Always remember that you are wonderful just the way you are. It is important to learn from our mistakes and grow continuously but you do not need to be validated by anyone other than yourself. Stop looking for perfection in the eyes of others.

Let go of regrets – Life is not always fair, and it is okay to be sad by a few setbacks. But if you spend more time regretting every decision you made, or every roadblock you encountered, then it becomes difficult to enjoy the present. Let go of every ‘could have been’, ‘would have been’, and ‘should have been’ in your mind to live fully. Be happy for all that you have achieved till now and live in the present. Thus, we realize that when we let go of the things that do not matter, it is possible to enjoy true happiness. As quoted by the renowned Indian-American author, Deepak Chopra, " In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself."