Do you sometimes find yourself sleepless at night with thoughts about a concern churning through your head, keeping you awake and leaving you without energy to face the next day? Or maybe there is a challenging task that you procrastinate on completing, leaving your stomach tied up in knots and feeling disappointed in yourself because you “should” be able to handle it.

What would it take to be calm and present instead, fully available to manage the challenge in the present situation?

In the book LIVE SMART AFTER 50! The Experts’ Guide to Life Planning for Uncertain Times, Jan Hively, a lively and inspiring 80+ woman, offers us a clue into how she’s made her last decade the happiest and rewarding time of her life. She says that she follows her passions of meaningful work and has learned to “let go” of the negative messages that don’t serve her today. “I face what’s going on that is generating negative feelings and apply the Serenity Prayer to accept what I cannot change, have the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

A friend offered another simple technique for letting go that she uses at night when she can’t sleep.

Inhaling deeply, breathe in the word “LET”

Exhaling completely, breathe out the word “GO”

After repeating this several times notice a shift from your previous thoughts to a sense of calm. Be aware of your body and feel any tension replaced with a sense of ease. This simple tool shifts the focus off of the negative internal message and encourages you to “let go” of the thought that does not serve you.

There are many other techniques and practices available to support you being in the present moment rather than ruminating on the past or what “might happen” in the future. Some of these include meditation practices, mindfulness practices, and reading inspirational books and poetry.

I leave you with a poem that invites us to Let Go.

“She Let Go”

“She let go.
She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of the fear.
She let go of the judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.
She didn’t ask anyone for advice.
She didn’t read a book on how to let go.
She didn’t search the scriptures.
She just let go.
She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.
She didn’t promise to let go.
She didn’t journal about it.
She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.
She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn’t call the prayer line.
She didn’t utter one word.
No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.
There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.
In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her. And the sun and the moon shone forevermore…”

                                                                  – Ernest Holmes

Many people find “getting started” on a meaningful path alone overwhelming. Certified Life Coach, Mary Radu, is a skilled guide for handling the most challenging midlife circumstances and creating practical strategies to keep you in action. She helps individuals and couples in their 40’s-70’s to live meaningful lives by focusing their time, money and talents to improve their lives and the world around them.

She inspires her clients to uncover their values and motivations that lead to fulfilling choices and greater impact in the world through their career, philanthropy and lifestyle.

She’s a great support if you need help to get past the struggle and uncover fulfilling new career, lifestyle and retirement directions for the next 20-30 bonus years. Her guidance draws on your experience and passion to develop long-term strategies as well as practical solutions to current work/life challenges.

If there are work or lifestyle concerns that you’re ready to address and you’d like some additional support in taking your next step, contact me for a chat at 707.824.8836 or email me at Mary@PathmakerCoaching.com and let’s take your next step together!