Letting go of what no longer serves you

If most of my friends were asked a couple of months back to make a list of people who hold on to

things a lot, I'd definitely make it to the top 5 on that list. For some reason beyond my explanation, I attach sentiments to almost everything I had not to mention what I felt. Most of the things I found it hard to let go were: 

- Memories, the bad and ugly ones (I find holding on to the good memories very therapeutic).

- Items that are not useful to me. 

- Guilt, this is because I hate being the cause of someone's pain.

- Movies I have seen, when I’m done with movies or series that I enjoy, I used to visit almost all their Wikipedia pages, watch most of their interviews, analyze how it should have ended and oh you are not ready for this one! I’ll change my wardrobe to have one or more of my favorite characters outfits. Reign (series) got me :)

- What I have no control over.

Now, this affected me both physically and mentally. 

Physically, I had to make good use of my time and I had a lot of unused items that I couldn't let go of simply because of how useful and special they were and so on (not that I couldn't share but you know those very special things you have and just can't let go of right? yeah I know you understand :). This made it extremely difficult to declutter. When I started practicing how to let go of those things I considered special, I felt light, and free though I started out by giving to those in my inner circle. 

Mentally: holding on to emotions or memories I no longer needed made it difficult to create new memories. When I tried to create new ones, I realized I wasn’t present or I subconsciously wanted it to be like what I once knew. This happened especially when I moved to a new place or started something new in general, I always wanted the new to be more like the old- I guess I was just afraid of what the new had to offer. At the end of it all, it found out I wasn't giving myself room to grow, discover, and develop.

What 'saved' me was when I read an article some years back on finding joy in the present. Transitioning from that mindset of holding on to the new mindset of letting go took a while but it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. This is because I:

• Stopped worrying.  
• I found peace.
• Appreciated the present. 
• Practiced gratitude.
• became kinder :)
• Valued my time more.
• Created space for new experiences.

And the list goes on.

The summary of my epistle is that the choice is ours to be free and happy, it's a process. According to Isaiah 43:18-19 “So don’t remember what happened in earlier times. Don’t think about what happened a long time ago, because I am doing something new! Now you will grow like a new plant. Surely you know this is true. I will even make a road in the desert, and rivers will flow through that dry land.”

Instead of being a prisoner of the past, we can work towards being ready for new experiences.

How did you learn to let go?