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Enough is Enough
By Lindsay Leimbach
1. You are normal – You are normal if you need to “Let Go of negative emotions”. Everyone experiences negatively charged emotions attached to a past situation. This is completely normal. It is actually how your mind is protecting you from future poor decisions. The problem is that the mind does not know when enough is an enough and often holds on to the negatively charged emotions too long. This is when everyone has to practice the skill of “Letting Go”. “Letting Go” helps your mind to be calmer, happier, and have better clarity to make healthy choices.
2. “Letting Go” does not mean forgetting – Trying to forget something that has emotional charges such as anger, frustration, sadness, regret, guilt, and/or frustration is almost impossible. You can try to forget but this is called denial. The emotions will always be under the surface ready to rear their heads as soon as something triggers them once again. “Letting Go” is about no longer having the negatively charged emotions attached to the memory of the situation that produced them.
3. A Lesson has been learned – Having the ability to “Let Go” first means that you accept that a lesson has been learned that will have a positive influence on your life. The lesson can be as simple as “I won’t do that again”, “I will react differently next time”, or “I cannot hold on to things I cannot change”. Being able to formulate a positive lesson helps your mind “Let Go” of the negatively charged emotions to which it is clinging. This is a huge big step because it means that you are taking responsibility and control for your thinking.
4. Your mind will test you – Understanding that once you have decided to “Let Go”, you will not be surprised that the negatively charged emotions may again appear in your mind. Your mind will test you- it will ask you “Are you sure that you have “Let Go” of this anger, frustration, and/or disappointment?” This is where the true power of “Letting Go” materializes. Declare to yourself “I have Let Go, I have learned my lesson, I have moved on!” Then redirect your thinking away from the negative to a positive productive thought. The good news is the mind, in time, will stop testing you and you will actually have “Let Go” of the negatively charged emotions, while learning a valuable life lesson.
5. Visualize “Letting Go”–
a. Close your eyes and take three deep breathes, relax.
b. Envision you are at a beautiful park. There is a picnic table in front of you. On this bench is a sign with a word that represents the situation that has caused the negatively charge emotions. There is also an open suitcase on the picnic table.
c. Now feel the emotions that are caused by being confronted by the sign. Allow yourself to feel the discomfort. Are you feeling anger, sadness, despair, revenge, or hatred? Allow all the feelings to rise to the surface. Take a deep breath and envision yourself naming each feeling while placing that energy into the suitcase. Place the anger in the suitcase, place the hatred into the suitcase. If the feeling does not want to go into the suitcase, take a deep breath and try to place it in the suitcase again. You have control. Now check your body. If you have tension in your jaw, shoulders, hands, or anywhere else, place these physical feelings into the suitcase as well.
d. Close the suitcase. There is a lock on top. Lock the suitcase. There is also a handle on top. Place the handle facing up to the sky. Take a deep cleansing breath and step away from the picnic table, the suitcase, and the sign.
e. High above you, you see a beautiful hawk. This hawk sweeps down and with ease lifts the suitcase and begins to fly off with it. You watch it disappear into the distance. You now look at the sign and you say to yourself “I have learned a lesson without having the negatively charged emotion attached.”
f. Feeling light, free, and at peace, you turn away and say “I have “Let Go” and now I am moving on for the better and I am wiser.” Envision yourself walking away for ten steps while taking ten deep breaths and then open your eyes.
g. Remember your mind will test you, but you are ready to pass the test. You are wiser and calmer. |
