Let It Go: A Guide to Focusing on What Matters Most

“Do the right things instead of trying to do everything right.” - Peter Drucker

Our culture celebrates the hustle and relentless pursuit of more. More productivity, more control, and more perfection. What if I told you doing less could actually bring you more? 

“Simplicity is power. The power to do less of what doesn’t matter and more of what does.” - Bill Jensen

The Control Paradox

This paradox shows us how the tighter we grip, the more likely things will slip through our fingers. It practically shows up in every area of our lives. Think about the times you have insisted on controlling every detail - meticulous lesson plans, exhaustive feedback to each student, and worked late into the night to perfect all your lesson materials. Your mind was probably say, “the only way to be effective is to work more.” But is this true? What if you just let go of your drive for perfection? 

The miracle of this paradox really is: Letting go of so much control actually makes room for others in your life and it makes room for others to shine when you might now have seen their gifts before.

What Are You Really Holding Onto?

Focusing on the right stuff requires you to see what “all the stuff” current looks like in your situation.You can’t let go of what’s got a tight grip on you until you know what’s gripping you. Many things in your grip aren’t serving you well, but since you’ve had them a long time you don’t believe you can do life without them. These unserving things are like invisible burdens to us.  

Ask yourself:

• What would I like to never think about again?
• What relationships, beliefs, and habits bring negative thoughts and feelings to me?
• What feels heavy when I think about it?
• What could I release to create more space in my life?

Are you carrying worries that aren’t even yours? Expectations that don’t fit who you are today or what you are working on becoming tomorrow? Unrealistic standards that were never realistic?

Create Space for Miracles

When you release your grip on control, you create space for unexpected possibilities. I’ve had this happen time and time again in my life. Moments were life has surprised me with solutions to problems, or tangible items to support a current need, or people that could help me get to the next level I was working toward.

What miracle memories do you have? In other words, times when wonderful things happened precisely because you let something else go. Letting go is a powerful experience that should be viewed from a positive lens instead of a negative one.

You must commit to releasing “all the things” and keeping the “right things” in a variety of areas in life. 

Family - What is keeping you from being fully present and available?

Health - What makes self-care feel more like another task with too many steps or that takes too much 

              time that you don’t have? How can you create a more realistic tone and expectation to your 

              self-care regime?

Rest - What is keeping you from getting the right amount of rest and restoration?

Your Invitation to Let Go

The truth is - better things are waiting for you if you create space for them. They can’t arrive until you make space and believe that you don’t have to be everything for everybody, but focus your time and energy on the right things and release the things that no longer serve you.

The path forward isn’t about doing more - it’s about holding less. It’s about trusting that when you let go of one thing, another thing will be waiting to emerge for you.

“Until God opens the next door praise HIM in the hallway.”

Go make space. Release your grip. Trust the process.

Great things are waiting on you!