Breathe SB

Have you ever found yourself in a constant battle of trying to let go of a situation, life event, or challenge that didn’t work the way you expected? How do we move past the point of feeling down and mentally punishing ourselves and cross the bridge to getting back on track and regaining our joy?

There was a time in my life when I couldn’t escape this rut. I was let down left and right by many circumstances and people, and I constantly felt trapped in an endless cycle of disappointment and depression. My fears, life situations, and physical struggles were a daily battle that I was losing. My mental health was in decline, and no matter what I tried, I couldn’t find a way out.

I tried everything—running more, going to therapy, journaling, surrounding myself with supportive people, avoiding toxic influences, and working through my traumas. I don’t drink or smoke, so I was doing what I thought were all the “right” things. But despite my efforts, something was still holding me back. What was I missing?

I realized there was one thing I hadn’t done: I hadn’t made peace with what was making me feel so down. I had tried to fix, analyze, and process everything, but I hadn’t truly let go. Letting go doesn’t mean forgetting or pretending it never happened. It means saying, “This is where I stop carrying the weight of what happened to me. This is where I choose to move forward with what I have in front of me.”

I had to acknowledge that my brain had been trained to stay stuck in that loop of negativity. It’s easy to fall into patterns of thought that keep us tethered to the past because they feel familiar. But to change my paradigm, I made a conscious decision to stop wallowing in the “what ifs” and “why me” thoughts. There’s no way to go back and no way to “fix” or make the past better. Instead, I reframed my story. I accepted that what happened was part of my life, but it didn’t define my entire life.

Of course, I still have moments when I feel bad about past situations. That’s human. But I’ve trained myself to recognize those thoughts without letting them consume me. I let them come, but I also let them go. I remind myself that my life is still unfolding, and I have so much more to experience, create, and enjoy.

The truth is, no matter how much inner work we do, sometimes all we need is a stern decision and a clear plan to move forward. Healing doesn’t always come from fixing everything; sometimes, it comes from releasing the need to fix and instead focusing on what’s next. Letting go is an act of self-liberation, and with it comes the freedom to rediscover our joy and live fully in the present.