3 Things To Let Go Of In Order To Step Into Your New Season
The first step for a new season is to be sure you have stepped out of the old one.
Sometimes change is hard. We like to keep our feet in both the past and the present. But we can’t walk like that. Our feet have to make a choice, because if they aren’t moving in the same place, they aren’t going anywhere.
In my experience, there are three main things that tend to keep us stuck in the past. Good pain, bad pain, and fear.
What do I mean by good pain? Sometimes a season has been so good that there is pain in knowing it is ending. We have a hard time walking away from the people and places that mean so much to us. But the good news is that if there is goodness in the past it can be a part of all you do in your future. It doesn’t have to be released in the same way as bad pain does. Instead of parking in the old season, though, carry the good that came from it with you into the next season. Relationships don’t have to end just because you have a new beginning.
The bad pain is when things have happened to us that we don’t feel we can let go of. We want to get to a new place, but chains of resentment and unforgiveness hold us back. Remember that forgiveness isn’t saying what was done to you is ok. It is just saying you choose to not let it have control over you anymore. You are letting it go like a kid lets go of a balloon. That analogy isn’t meant to trivialize wrongs done to you. But think about how hard it was for you to let go of that balloon as a kid. You wanted to hang onto it because it was yours! Just like the pain right now is yours. But do you remember that mix of tears with how beautiful it was watching the balloon soar up and out of sight? That pales in comparison to the tears of relief that will flow as the chains of unforgiveness are removed and released. Let it go. Just do it.
Fear is the third culprit. Fear paralyzes. Fear magnifies. Fear causes reality to be distorted and imaginations to sway our decisions. Fear is an enemy that keeps us from opportunities right in front of us. How do we conquer fear? For me, I remind myself that faith and fear are one and the same. Both believe that something is going to happen that hasn’t happened yet. So why choose fear when it affects me negatively, when I can choose faith and be affected positively? Since I don’t know the outcome anyway, I get a choice. Choose faith. Believe for good. Move toward good.
Your new season is full of wonder and adventure. Here’s hoping you bring everything good along on the journey, leave everything bad behind, and look toward the amazing outcome this journey could likely provide.
So what’s your choice? We only have one life. Choose wisely…and enjoy!
