If you’ve been keeping up with the newsletters this month (read them here and here), you know the “secret” to de-stressing is "letting it be." There’s another phrase that seems synonymous, but can sometimes cause more trouble, “let it go.” Usually preambled with "just" as in “just let it go!” So, what’s the difference? To "let it be" is to actually sit with it, without trying to alter it, and allowing whatever you’re feeling/thinking to be there. To "let it go" is (usually) efforting to drop it, remove it from your space, and be done with it.
The funny thing here is that the only real way to "let it go" is to "let it be." Resistance will always amplify the thing you are trying to resist. In other words, the more aggressively you try to get something out of your space the more likely it will stick around. Consider experimenting with this yourself. The next time you are urging yourself to “just let it go,” or "just forget about it," or "just stop thinking about it," ask yourself if you are avoiding just sitting with the experience and feeling what’s there. You might be surprised to find that in letting it be, it goes away all by itself.
To obnoxious but ultimately helpful distinctions (our speciality),
The Workability Team
Workability
December 21, 2021
workabilityinc