Letting Go to Gain

The urgency of the situation finally hit me: My school district is 17 million dollars in debt, and will soon be bankrupt. Everyone has their own interpretation about the meaning of this statement, and how it will look, but for me it's the final "straw that broke the camel's back."

It's time to move on.

People resist change. Some value control so much that they are willing to "go down with the ship". But change is a constant. Good science and WORD backs up the need to know when and how to let go.

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven."
Ecclesiastes 3:1

Life works in seasons. While at my mom's house the other day, the doorbell rang. It was my high school boyfriend, Dwight. I had not seen him in thirty years. We talked some. One of my first thoughts was, "What did I ever see in him?" During my teen age "season" I thought he was the man I'd marry. I'm so glad he stayed in my past because the teenage Rosalind and the present day Rosalind are so different.

While I will discuss letting go as it relates to business and career, this concept is just as important in relationships.

The new economy finds so many of us being handed pink slips; others are working the jobs of two while receiving the salary of one, and most of us are reworking our finances to survive. I believe this is a permanent season, and calls for our reinvention, restructuring, and the redefining of what success means.

But first we need to say goodbye.

We resist it so, even though it's a normal part of life. Something has to be given up in order to advance. A baby crawls but will eventually surrender crawling in order to take his first steps. A child must grow in self-reliance in order to grow into a functioning adult. We all know adult children who are stuck, still living with their parents even though they are 35. We react by shaking our heads.

In nature pruning is also vital. If you garden, you know to get the most excellent rosebushes you start by cutting off dying or dead buds.

So it is with life. Whether it's a toxic friendship or a job that doesn't satisfy, letting go or pruning is necessary to get our needs met through the right friends or to start that business we've always dreamed of.

Here are some tips to help you navigate through loss.

1. Realize losses are NORMAL. In every areas of life, letting go is part of it. When we ignore the need to release a person or situation from our lives, we can hurt ourselves and others, and delay the blessing that could sweeten our lives.

2. Feel your feelings. Are you laid off? This not the time to swallow your feelings. It's important to process them. Another word for letting go is loss. What do you feel when I say this word?

Right now, I am allowing myself to feel the anger about a district which has in my opinion been negligent towards teachers and children for so many years. Also, to some degree, I'm angry at myself for childishly "wishing" they'd get it together, and do right. Processing feelings simply mean feeling what you truly feel, and then letting them go so you can move forward. To do this, you can talk to a trusted friend therapist or pastor. Journaling is also a good way to express and processing emotions.

Conclusion

Navigating through a job loss can be tricky, but realizing that changes are normal and even looking for the season in which to prune areas of your life means you are letting go of dead weight freeing yourself up to pursue greater achievements in business and in life. So, feel your feelings. This is the first crucial step in beginning the process of reinventing yourself.

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