Letting Go

image: guidedtransformation.net

One thing many of us need to do more of is to let go. We need to let go of limiting assurances. There is no comfort in your comfort zone. There is no job security. There is no riskless venture. There is no sure bet. There are only good planning and informed decisions.

It is funny how many of us get it right when it comes to exercising for physical fitness. We thoroughly understand that it is not possible to become fit in one day, no matter how intense we exercise. We spread our fitness plan over months and years. Yet when it comes to our career and more important life decisions, we want one day solutions. We think more of what to do once and not repeatedly overtime. That is why so many Nigerians are addicted to certification exams. Get it done and move on to something else. So we do intense studying towards the certification exam and once we pass, that's the end. It's like a one day or one week or one month intense exercise. You get benefits but lose them over time because you stopped.

And it's because we have this strange assurance that certifications give more job opportunities and security. It is true that having more is better than having less. More experience is better than less experience. More degrees is better than less degrees. More certifications is better than less certifications. But what is best is having a stellar plan. Good planning and informed decisions. Take a long-term look at your life and decide where you want to be many years from now. Then do only things that will get you to that long-term goal. Do a certification if it would move you towards that goal, but not just any certification you feel is now in vogue. Read books and take non-certificate training that will give you the knowledge and skills you need. Do only things that will work synergistically towards achieving that goal. 

Let go of non-relevant tasks. Even if your job role doesn't align with your long-term goal, start planning your escape. If PMP will look great on your CV but won't fit into your long-term goal achievement plan, then ignore it. If you focus hard enough on your long-term goal, you will see so many things to do to be prepared and travelling in the path to its achievement and have less time to do non-relevant things. You will even start wishing you had more time.

Don't focus to much on what you stand to lose or the sacrifices to make, rather focus more on the goal and how to overcome the obstacles you've identified. The human mind is very creative and adaptive, it will help you figure out a way to cut your loss and compensate for the sacrifices. But every time you let fear of letting go hold you back from doing what you really want, you stand to lose much more. And the truth is, in the beginning, you will have an exaggerated loss estimate. But as you head in the direction of your long-term goal, you begin to see steps on the mountain, easy ways to overcome the obstacles that look great from afar.

So as you move into this weekend, I want you to do a review of your long-term goals and see if you are optimally heading in the direction to achieving it. Or if you have things to let go of.