Letting go’, ‘leaving things in the past’, ‘surrendering’ – all terms or sayings that imply that in order to effectively move forward, we need to completely shed or be rid of previous issues or habits.

Common sense, huh? But not easy in practice is it?

When I unexpectedly survived a stroke at 24 years of age and moved from being an independent, healthy, fit individual to a reliant, disabled person, letting go of the the ‘old Em’ was hardly appealing. The ability to let go of my old life to make room for my new direction was (& is) an ongoing challenge. I refused to let go, clinging onto the ‘old em’.

In fact, I write about this in my book, reinventing emma “-…It would be a long time before I could begin to accept what I couldn’t change about my new self, and try to change what I could…”

However, dragging around my issues proved to only hinder my ability to let go. Although I’d love to rid myself of post-stroke deficits, that backward mindset  proved to only be a constant frustration and barrier. Basically, I was convincing myself that I would only be fully present and effective at any task, if the problems were resolved and deficits were cured. However, after stubbornly choosing this mindset, I gradually realised that I needed to ride with these issues and try to not let them dictate my day.

I write in my book, reinventing emma – “…After years attempting to completely cure and rid myself of my nerve pain, I have gradually accepted its presence. Rather than let its undeviating existence control me, I’ve become an observer of it. By acknowledging it, I’ve learnt to make room for it and try to distance it from my daily life”

Accepting things as they are, does not mean that they will never change, lessen or disappear. However, in this mindset we are choosing to accept the existence of these things and are able to function more effectively.

I’m sure many of us are still set on returning to our pre-covid lives. Surely, once we can ditch sanitiser, face masks and the fears associated with being a victim of covid19, we can return to living normally again. It is then, we can finally ‘BE’! Right? Whilst this mindset does gives us hope that our circumstances will change, it also hinders our ability to let go, accept, ‘be’ and move forward effectively.

Consider what in your life you can let go of.  What is stopping you or not serving you? Perhaps try, rather than ridding it from your life, choose to move forward in its presence. What would that look like?

Sure, we can return to our precovid19 lifestyles, but why wait until then?Aren’t we unintentionally letting those things control our paths? Perhaps, by not letting go, we are dismissing any other possibilities that may arise if we choose to move forward?

As Danna Faulds states, “..Let go, and the wave’s crest will carry you to unknown shores, beyond your wildest dreams or destinations…”