Giving Up Vs. Letting Go

“Grateful in the moment. Trusting in the future.” Tracey Jackson

Have you ever reached a point in your life or in a relationship where you just want to push the reset button? You’re exhausted and ready to shift gears. Not wanting to sell yourself short or let down other people, you push on. You remain in “fight mode” regardless of what your heart is telling you. You’re concerned with the opinions of others, what others expect from you and what the world tells you you should do. You’re not allowed to “give up”.

But what if there was a difference between giving up and letting go?

I recently had someone say to me “You can't give up so easily!” “Give up? Give up? I am not giving up!” I thought.

When you give up you haven't looked at the big picture. You haven't exhausted all other options. Giving up is a direct action. It happens when you haven't given it your all, when you lack passion, when you feel disconnected and your heart is closed. I felt angered and offended by this comment. I felt trapped in the expectations of others. I felt like they were saying “Don’t listen to yourself, listen to others. Your voice doesn’t matter, ours does.” But I trust myself. I trust my heart, I trust my intuition, I trust when to know enough is enough. Does that mean I am giving up?

Letting go is not an action, it is a mind-set.

What happens when you remove expectations? You listen. You listen to your heart, you listen to your body, you listen to what is greater than you. Letting go is trusting that things are as they should be. That you are giving it your all from a place of love and passion. Letting go is having faith that things will work out, even if that’s not how you envisioned them. Letting go happens from an open heart.

When something in your life is beating you down, it’s ok to step back and dust yourself off. When the passion still lives in your heart, you are not giving up. Eventually you’ll get back in the arena and fight again. It’s important to know when to say “I have fought as hard as I can without compromising the light of my flame.” Without your light you are nothing. If you keep that flame alive, it will still shine through the cracks of the wreckage.