If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down.👍🏻
If you want to fly, you have to give up everything that weighs you down, said the old man with the long gray beard who lived on the mountain next to my village. His name was Gideon and he had taken me under his wing as part of my apprenticeship in the ancient art of cloud-dancing. I was twelve years old and had been studying with Gideon for three years at that point, but I still hadn’t made it off the ground without falling back down again… and when I did touch down, it was usually flat on my backside!
Why we need to let go
We all know what it’s like to feel weighed down, like we’re sinking into quicksand and there’s nothing we can do about it. We might be working too much, or not doing the things we love anymore; maybe our relationships are suffering or maybe we’re just burnt out on life in general. Whatever the case may be, feeling weighed down is never fun and often times can lead to a lot of negative thoughts about ourselves and our situation–enough so that sometimes when talking about these feelings with others, they say just let it go as if this is something easy and simple for us to do.
What’s holding us back
We don’t often question what’s holding us back, but it’s worth it to take a moment and do so. Why are we content where we are? What do we need to let go of in order for us to move forward? If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down. Give up your fear of failure. Give up your fear of change. Give up whatever is weighing you down that is keeping you from being free-you can always pick those things back up when you come out on the other side! Remember, when we’re stuck or not moving forward, there is almost always something within our control (consciously or unconsciously) preventing us from doing so. It’s time to find out what it is and release the hold it has on your life!
How to let go
When I was in my 20s, I would often joke that all I needed to do was buy a one-way ticket and my life would be complete. As it turns out, this was closer than I imagined as in 2010 when I had just turned 30 years old, I won the US green card lottery and moved from Canada to New York City where I started a new life. At first it seemed like a dream come true; the kind of story people only read about in fiction books or see on TV shows like The Amazing Race. But soon enough reality set in and things got tough because even though I had nothing weighing me down physically anymore, there were so many things weighing me down mentally and emotionally.
Letting go is hard, but it’s worth it
It’s hard to let go of the things we’ve worked so hard for, but it’s worth it in the end. When we hold on too tight, we limit our opportunities for growth and success.
1) Let go of your fear of failure. 2) Let go of your fear of success. 3) Let go of your fear of not meeting expectations or standards set by others. 4) Let go of your need to control every situation and person around you with an iron grip 5) Let go of your need for approval from others 6) Let go of control over what other people think about you 7) Let go of who you think you should be, in order to please others
Lighten your load
So remember, if you want to fly, give up all the things that weigh you down. The more baggage you carry, the harder it is to take off and fly with ease. Lighten your load and enjoy the feeling of flight for what it is: one of life’s great joys.
So remember, if we want to fly, we have to give up all the things that weigh us down–you know? The more baggage we carry around in our lives–the harder it is for us to take off and fly easily through our days.
