Does anyone else find it as hard to let go as I do?
Listen to these expressions about letting go: “I was hanging
onto it by my fingernails,” or “My knuckles almost turned blue I was holding on
so tightly.” Why is that? When I tried to leave my office today, knowing I
wouldn’t be back for three months, knowing I would be missing Christmas, the
most exciting, super busy but fun time at The Salvation Army, I kept going
back…and back…and back. Back to get some fresh flowers that might have a few more
days life in them. Back to get the emergency backup jar of peanut
butter in my desk drawer. Back to tell Lindsay some obscure detail of a project
she might have to take care of.
“Take care of your health” was not a mantra I grew up with. More
commonly I heard “Do your best.” And “Finish what you start.” And “You always
need to help others.” And sometimes, I heard “It has to be perfect.” Although
it wasn’t usually said out loud, I heard it anyway. Something about the way we
grew up set up my sisters and me up for some struggles with perfectionism,
which makes it harder to let go. I’m thankful my doctor stepped in and said the
right thing: “You need to take some time to take care of yourself.” I just wish
she hadn’t said it right before the Christmas season. But I’m learning from my
young teammates and fellow bloggers. They would tell me to take a chill pill,
and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Do you have trouble letting go? Or is it easy for you? Either way, I'd love to hear about it. Please put a sentence or two in Comments!
