It is not realistic to believe that everything that once mattered, or we were made to believe mattered, is going to remain important to you throughout your lifetime. In this sense, it is necessary to do a good purging of what you carry with you every day to satisfy your ever-changing needs, and this requires letting go of all that does not serve you.  

You should constantly be doing an internal cleaning to maximize happiness and ensure that you are only engaging in what is important to you. Whenever I’m lacking contentment or satisfaction from my day-to-day life, I like to reflect on what I’m prioritizing and try to determine if it’s contributing to my life. A fitting example of this is if you constantly feel less than great after hanging out with a friend. It is so easy to dwell on the past and reminisce about the way they once made you feel, but the main theme is if they are not actively building you up or contributing to your life then they are not worthy of your time. 

As (Disney) Queen Elsa and so many other wise people have said: Let it go. The popularity of this phrase is indicative of how vital its applications are! We would become overburdened so quickly if we never let go of all the trivial things that don’t mean a thing to us anymore. The best part about freeing yourself of what doesn’t serve you is that it makes space for something greater; would you rather have 4 beautiful apples or 8 bruised ones? 

It can be difficult to pinpoint what you need to leave behind, but a great way to figure this out is by bringing awareness to your emotions, or lack of, after doing anything. This could range anywhere from hitting the snooze button, leaving a friend’s house, eating a particular food, gossiping, scrolling through social media, the list goes on. You could track this by keeping a journal and seeing if your negative emotions have any trends.  

This process of letting go also ensures growth, self-improvement and that you always have something that you can wake up excited about. Relieving your life of what may be weighing you down opens endless opportunities and is the greatest form of self-care. Getting rid of the negatives in your life may not solve everything, but you will certainly be a lot better off in at least a few areas. If you set out intentions of happiness and peace, then naturally you will attract that if you allow space for it. 

The enemy of this practice though is comfort. We become so accustomed to our daily routines that we may not even realize that anything is wrong. Dropping things that no longer have value to you doesn’t disprove how they once made you feel or cloud the memories but acknowledges that you can find new things to make you feel just as good.  

There is truly no time to entertain anything that taxes your mind, body, or soul so I encourage you to make changes to what you hold on to. 2022 can be the year of growth and new beginnings- let’s act accordingly 🙂