You’ve probably heard the statement countless times, “Let it go.” It’s on refrigerator magnets, calendar quotes, self-help books, spiritual documents, Instagram posts, Oh! and the movie, Frozen.

You may have even agreed with it and attempted it. What does it really mean though?

How do you know if you’ve successfully “let something go?”

I have a gift for you. It’s a technique that with use over time will create a surefire way to “let stuff go.”

It comes from one of my favorite authors, Dr. David Hawkins. He’s written a series of books that have received accolade from the likes of Mother Teresa (a saint), Sam Walton (a businessman), and Wayne Dyer (a spiritual teacher). You can’t go wrong there!

Here’s the method, but first a quick understanding:

Whenever we experience a negative emotion we do one of three things with it:

1. Suppress/ Repress it (Consciously or Subconsciously) (Then it comes up unpleasantly later)

2. Express it (Act it out in a silliness of rage, frustration, fear, etc…)

3. Escape it (Hello FaceBook/ TV/ YouTube/ NetFlix/ Movie Theaters/ Media, etc…)

Are any of those positive? Nope. We either bury negative emotion, we lash out at another (innocent or not), we distract ourselves from dealing with an issue by turning on a device. Wow. Think about that.

Would you rather shed copious amounts of built up negative emotion in a safe way? Can you imagine how good it would feel to really “let stuff go?”

Can you imagine removing an emotional trigger and not allowing the outside world to flip your switch!?

Let’s get to it: 5 steps to Let Stuff Go

1. Allow the emotion to surface. Allow yourself to feel it, in fact ask for more of it to come up.

2. IMPORTANT ** DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THE THOUGHTS ABOUT IT**

3. Simply feel it without labeling it, without running wild with your thoughts about it, just experience the emotion.

4. Visualize it surfacing and “burning off.” Imagine there’s only a limited quantity of the negative emotion you are experiencing and as you notice it surfacing, allow it to “leave your body.”

5. You’ll notice you’re done when you feel much less of the negative emotion in your body. Perhaps your breathing will deepen, you’ll feel lighter, when you do think about the issue, no more negative juices start flowing.

This process requires practice and I would advise you to start with the small stuff. For example: If you get cut off in traffic, allow the anger to surface, feel it without creating a mental story about how much you hate other drivers, yada, yada, blah, blah. Visualize the emotion/anger you are feeling is being burnt off, or lifted out of your body. Then see if you can REALLY let it go! You’ll know you’ve achieved success when it happens again and you either feel less anger or feel no anger at all! Bam – You’ve Got This!