About this time of year (at least for my U.S. readers), we regrettably turn our attention to the fact we owe our due to the tax collector. The theme "letting go" of our hard-earned money is not really what I had in mind here. However, it was through my annual tirade of streaming expletives and fist shaking (among other things) as the amount of this year's "letting go" finally hit me in the typical 11th hour scramble to get my taxes done, that I had my stunning realization. "Letting go" is a valuable life skill when it comes to things that are out of our control —which of course, is just about everything.

There are some obvious things in life we just don’t have any control over (like death and taxes...). Frustration’s rants and raves over these serve no purpose other than to keep frustration alive. I can think of better ways to channel my energy --though at the time it sure can feel good to rattle the prison bars. Funny thing about those bars though —they disappear the moment we let them go.

Other things are not so obvious, like “outcomes” or goals, which through careful planning and execution, might still not be achieved. This brings up an important distinction that I learned nearly 10 years ago —the difference between “being totally committed” and “not being attached to the results”. This is a tough one for most folks to grasp given our “win at all costs” society, whether in business or play (imagine a Green Bay Packer’s quarterback telling Vince Lombardi that he’s totally committed to winning a playoff but won’t be attached to whether they actually do or not —I can think of a few other things that would suddenly not be attached!)

The fact of the matter is that while we can assert some influence over outcomes, their achievement is never guaranteed. So what do you do when you work at something really, really hard and it still doesn’t happen? You could let yourself get frustrated and blame others or even yourself, but that’s not very useful. There is a “get out of jail free” card available in this kind of situation; it’s called “not being attached” to the results —simply another form of “letting go”.

This freedom comes from choosing to just “observe” the results (good, bad, or otherwise) instead of reacting to them. Shifting from the “reactor” to the “observer” gives you enormous power over the chaos and disappointments that life inevitably throws our way. This “art of letting go” is much easier said than done, however. It takes discipline, practice, and a genuine intention to consistently incorporate it into your life, and of course not being attached to whether you succeed in doing so...

Perhaps the best part of "letting go" however is that in doing so, we get out of the way of a much greater force (call it "God", "The Universe", whatever). One that is a lot more effective in helping us achieve what needs to be done than we could ever expect from ourselves. So, I guess you could say that ultimately, the art of letting go is about not working so darn hard at life —not such a bad way to live!