Ten Ways You Can Be Happier: Ten Ways You Can Be Happy

FUN COMMANDMENT SIX:

Let Go Frequently

In life, as in juggling, success depends less on what we catch

than on how quickly we can let go. Failure to let go of what we have

already lost increases our suffering and ineffectiveness during life’s

inevitable transitions.

Now, suppose you are an innocent recipient of misfortune

or abuse. You did nothing to deserve the loss. You have a right to be

resentful and angry. If you accept it gracefully, you may feel like

you are endorsing an injustice or letting somebody or something

off too easily.

Nonetheless, it’s still advisable to let go and “forgive” as

quickly as you can. Do this for one reason only — it’s good for you.

Harboring resentment, no m atter how justified it may be, imprisons

the resenter, while making no impact on the situation. It drains

energy and limits options. Letting go is something we do for the

benefit of no one but ourselves.

But it is not easy. The more important the loss, the harder it

is to release our grip. This is where the issue of priorities, raised

earlier, becomes important. We must not allow difficulty in letting

go of the more important issues to stand in the way of our releasing

what we can. Every little bit helps free us to be more resourceful

and effective in our responses.

Humor nature provides an effective and practically effortless

way of letting go — laughter. We cannot laugh without letting go.

Believe me, I’ve tried and it gave me a hernia.

If you are able to let go, it may be only for today. Tom orrow

may require a renewed effort, since resentments have a way of

building back up, with or without justification.

Perhaps you will find this exercise helpful:

Exercise #6:

Begin by letting the little things go. There may be things in

your life that you can’t forgive right now. That’s certainly

understandable, but it doesn’t have to stop you.

To practice this exercise, all we really need is the willingness

to release the things that we can. Each little bit helps. Every time we

let go of a small resentment we increase the likelihood of eventually

being free of our bigger ones.

Start with the easy ones and work your way up.

Ten Ways You Can Be Happier