A few months ago, my friend, Alex Blackwell (from The Bridgemaker), announced that he was compiling stories about letting go for a new book he was writing. He opened up submissions for each of us to share something from our own lives that we were happy to have let go of. He wanted to know how letting go had helped us surrender. How it brought us peace. And how it led us to feeling hopeful.
The beautiful book was just released, and I am honored that my piece was included in it. I’m so happy to share it with you here, but before I do, I wanted to ask you the same question that Alex asked me:
Have you ever experienced a time in your life when you resisted letting go, but later found the strength to surrender and then welcomed the emotional freedom you gained?
In my own life, I’ve found letting go to to be such a powerful act of faith and surrender. I’ve found that when I finally let go of something that I’ve been holding onto so tightly, my entire being can exhale and can move on lovingly and peacefully.
I would love for you to share your own story about letting go in the comments below. What are you no longer carrying? What have you bravely surrendered? And how has your life changed because of it?
Here is the piece I wrote that’s included in this powerful and inspiring new book:
One of the most powerful and profound life lessons that I’ve learned so far came from my mentor/friend, Steve Harrison. He told me to let go of the good in my life in order to make room for the great.
As someone who had spent most of my life securely in my comfort zone – letting fear guide me – this advice definitely struck a nerve within me. But the more I thought about it, the more I could see how beautifully true it was. And the more I saw that it could be applied to many areas of my life.
Like most of us, I grew up thinking that when you grow up, you go to college, graduate, and get a job – hopefully using the skills you learned in school. My degree was in technical editing, and so after graduation it made perfect sense that I would start working in this field. Which is exactly what I did. Each day, I went to work and edited documents. I worked with nice people (for the most part). I had a nice office space. I had a routine. I brought my lunch. I ate with my friends. And I did this every day for a couple of years. Was I passionate about this work? No. Did I hate this work? No. It was work. It was a way to make a living. It was good, but definitely not great.
After awhile though, the good – the routine and the monotony – became drudgery to me. I could hear a calling from deep within urging me to do something different, something that I was passionate about, something that fed my soul. But I was afraid of taking that leap, afraid of not having security of a steady job if I went out on my own, afraid of failing. And so I stayed in the comfortable job – the good job – for much longer than I wanted to.
I wish I could say that I listened to my soul, quit my job, founded my company, and lived happily ever after. This is what happened, but it wasn’t quite as easy as that – there were definitely some turns and pitfalls and lessons along the way. What I will say is that letting go of my comfortable job made it possible for me to clear space in my life for my passion to rise to the surface. Had I continued editing, I would never have had the time to get clear about what I wanted to do – what I longed to do. I would never have had the inkling to think that there are options, and that it was okay to pursue them. I needed to let go and have faith in order to leap into my dream life, which is exactly what I’m living now. And it truly does feel great!
I’ve found this life lesson to be extremely versatile, not only when applying it to my professional life, but also to my personal life. When I was in my twenties, I married the man that I had been in a relationship with from the time I was 19. We had a good relationship. We got along pretty well. We had a routine. We were comfortable. Nothing was extremely bad, but it also wasn’t extremely good. We plugged along like this for seven years, and I thought that we would continue in this way for the rest of our lives.
Until I met Dan. When I was with him, my soul lit up. My heart was on fire. My world was suddenly in full color. And while it wasn’t an easy decision or something that I came to without feeling tremendous heartbreak, I knew that I had to give up my good marriage in order to make room for a great one with Dan. Which is exactly what I did. That was 11 years ago, and I am so happy to say that my soul is still lit up, and my heart is still on fire. I adore this man, and we have a beautiful and absolutely great relationship together.
Something that I continue to come back to in my life is that comfort doesn’t equal living. What I mean by that is that you can live a life where all of your basic needs are being met, but that definitely doesn’t mean that you will feel passion for this life. It doesn’t mean that you’re living your purpose. It doesn’t mean that you’re in love with your life. It probably means that you’re living a good life, but perhaps are afraid to live a great one. I definitely was.
But what I’ve found is that taking chances and mixing things up and saying yes to opportunities are essential ingredients for living a great life. And a great life means that you’re living fully and passionately and on purpose. Giving up the good in my life and making room for the great is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It’s something that changed my life completely, and I know that deciding to live this way has the power to change yours as well.
***
Alex compiled some really beautiful and powerful stories in this book, and I definitely recommend that you download it and take them into your heart.
You can read a free preview of the book here.
To celebrate this book being released, Alex put together a wonderful bonus package (10 gifts) that you’ll receive for free when you order it!
I’m so honored to be a part of it and to share space with so many dear friends (including Dan)! I hope you’ll read it and be inspired, filled with hope, and better able to have the courage to let go of whatever is no longer serving you in your own life.
I can tell you that it’s such a freeing experience that I wish for each of us!
Please help spread the love by sharing this post on Facebook and Twitter!
Hugs,
Jodi, thanks so much for sharing your story and wisdom here. I have noted some sentences in my journal for further reflection. I especially like: Something that I continue to come back to in my life is that comfort doesn’t equal living.
I have to say that I found it easier to take a faithful leap when I was younger, and am now doing it less often. When I do, it feels like I am jumping off a cliff without a parachute on. I guess I resist until I lose my footing rather than taking a leap of faith in many cases 😉
Those times when I have purposefully left something good to move into something great have been turning points in my life: Leaving NZ for Germany, leaving a busy job to have children and only returning part-time. I will certainly be mulling over that over the next while.
I take my hat off to you for leaping into a dream life. I am trying to tippy-toe my way towards one right now instead…
Such a powerful and thought provoking post. Letting go of the good to make room for the great is probably one of the most scariest things we can do, yet, one of the most satisfying. I also left work that didn’t satisfy my souls calling, one of the best decisions I ever made was to trust my instincts and to just let go xx