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    “The thing you earned, that you depend on, that was hard to do—it’s a gift from your former self. Just because you have a law degree, a travel agency or the ability to do calligraphy in Cyrillic doesn’t mean that your future self is obligated to accept that gift. We hold on to the old competencies and our hard-earned status roles far longer than we should. The only way to be creative is to do something new, and the path to something new requires leaving something else behind. New decisions based on new information are at the heart of leadership. But you can’t make those decisions if you’re also busy calculating how much the old decisions cost you.”

    Seth Godin, Blog

      “‘Letting go’ is only possible for short periods. We need some discipline to bring us to ‘letting be.’ We must walk a spiritual path. Ego must wear itself out like an old shoe, journeying from suffering to liberation.”

      Chögyam Trungpa, via Sunbeams (Page 82)

        “It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.”

        Paulo Coelho, via The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 257)

          “The right time to leave is when you’re ready, not just when someone else makes the decision for you. When a good thing reaches its natural end, don’t drag it out. If you don’t like the menu, leave the restaurant.”

          Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 234)

            “Change and loss are deeply connected—there cannot be change without loss.”

            Stephen Grosz, The Examined Life (Page xii)

              “Clear your mind and get a hold on yourself and, as when awakened from sleep and realizing it was only a bad dream upsetting you, wake up and see that what’s there is just like those dreams.”

              Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, via The Daily Stoic (Page 55)

                “By forgiving the perpetrator, I release myself. I can revise the event. I can see it as something that gives me more compassion and understanding. I can let go of it. There is no benefit to establishing an imaginary judicial system in my own mind where I carry out punishments to people who have wronged me. By letting go of this long-held inner drama I become a little more liberated and useful. In essence it’s bad that it happened but it’s worse that I allow myself to be affected by it now. I cannot control the past but I can control the present through forgiveness.”

                Russell Brand, Recovery (Page 134)

                  “I shed my guilt when I accepted my decision on its own terms, without endlessly prosecuting old grievances, without weighing his sins against mine. Without thinking of my father at all. I learned to accept my decision for my own sake, because of me, not because of him. Because I needed it, not because he deserved it.”

                  Tara Westover, Educated