We often think of letting go as giving up.
As a weakness. As surrender.
As a kind of failure to hold on tightly enough.
But letting go is not the same as giving up.
It’s an act of trust.
A decision to stop clinging to what no longer fits, even if it once did. To release what you cannot control, even if it mattered deeply to you. To unclench your grip on what’s behind you so your hands are open for what’s ahead.
That’s not failure. That’s growth.
Letting go is hard because it often comes without closure. Without a neat ending. Without applause.
We let go of old dreams. Of relationships that changed. Of identities we outgrew. Of versions of ourselves we once clung to.
And in that space, grief often follows.
Even when the letting go is right, it still hurts.
We grieve not just what was but what we hoped would be.
But grief is not a mistake.
It’s the evidence of love.
It means something mattered.
It means you were brave enough to care.
And the more we allow ourselves to feel that grief without rushing past it, the more gently we can release what’s not ours to carry anymore.
You can’t receive with closed fists
We can’t grow while gripping too tightly. We can’t rise while weighed down. We can’t move forward with both feet in the past.
Letting go doesn’t mean you stop loving or stop honouring what was. It just means you’re willing to let things change. To let yourself change.
Because change is the nature of life.
And what feels like loss in one season often becomes space in the next.
Space for breath.
For new stories.
For new truths to take root.
So if something is pulling at you to release it, listen.
Maybe it’s time.
Time to stop forcing the thing to work. Time to forgive, not for their sake, but for your own peace. Time to stop chasing what was and start nurturing what is.
You are allowed to change your mind.
You are allowed to let go of what no longer serves your joy, your peace, or your purpose.
And you don’t have to explain it to everyone.
You just have to listen to the part of you that already knows what’s ready to be released.
Because letting go isn’t the end.
It’s the beginning of becoming.
Thank you for reading. Your time and attention mean everything. This essay is free, but you can always buy me coffee or visit my shop to support my work. For more thoughts and short notes, please find me on Instagram.
Spot on! I understood this clearly when i learned how in quantum physics, a phenomena doesn’t happen when you’re observing it/forcing it to happen. You can either get to control or get the outcome, not both.