How to Let Go
Increase your influence by letting go of The Struggle and re-aligning your energy and
attention
Things that are
Within My Control
Things that are
Not In My Control
(maybe just for now, maybe never)
Action
Step Four (end here)
Step One (start here)
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Returning to Action in Things Within My
Control = Rebalancing Personal Power
Where could your time better be invested?
Putting Action into Things Not In My
Control = “The Struggle”
What signs exist that suggest you are in “The
Struggle”?
Putting effort into…
Spending time upon…
Talking about…
Asking others about…
Daydreaming about…
Planning for…
Having internal
dialogue about…
 Acting upon…
 Remembering…
 Seeking self-worth
from…
For yourself?
Physical symptoms
Emotional symptoms
For your relationships?
Time wasting
For your career?
Feedback from others
Inaction
Step Three
Step Two
 No time investment
in…
 No internal dialoguing…
 No analyzing…
 No review of my
emotions regarding…
 Seeking benign apathy
about…
Removing Action from Things That Are
Within My Control = Neglect
What areas of your life have you neglected
or abandonned, in order to maintain The
Struggle?
Withdrawing Action from Things Not In My
Control = Letting Go
How is “acceptance” different than
“agreement”?
Can I accept that this is not within my
control?
What would “benign apathy” look like and
feel like?
Does serenity sound attractive enough to let
go? Am I ready to let go?
“Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the
difference.” - Reinhold Niebuhr
“For every ailment under the sun, There is a remedy, or there is none; If there be one, try to find it; If there be none, never mind it.”
- from a Mother Goose tale
© 2015 Jeff Harris LMFT; adapted from The Personal Power Grid, in Managing Personal Change, by Cynthia Scott and Dennis Jaffe