Let Go and Shift Big

Hi, I’m Sandra. Welcome to The Happyist. Here, we get unstuck through appreciation and holistic happiness. Best part? It’s easy and kind of fun.

Becoming holistically happy is an interesting process. But first, you might be asking, “WTF is holistic happiness?” It’s nurturing happiness in every aspect of our lives. Yep, all of them. And the thing is, we can be happy with what we have while we are making changes and wanting something different. That’s where appreciation comes in.

And, appreciation is not acceptance. It’s being thankful for the experience, the opportunity, the wisdom gained, the growth, and knowing that we can have more and better. Appreciation leads to happiness; happiness leads to change and success. We evolve and get unstuck through appreciation and happiness. We see not only what’s possible, but what’s totally obtainable.

Changing and letting go is part of this process. And that’s always easy, right? LOL. Right. If nothing else, it’s interesting.

There are moments when I stop and realize, “Oh, that’s different.” Or, “I handled that so much better than before.” Or, “Holy wow! That didn’t bother me much.” It can be pretty weird and wonderful. But I’m sort of at a crossroads.

Petty shit isn’t bothering me as much as it would before I got holistically happy. Which is great. No complaints. But I’m now finding myself telling me, in certain situations, that, “You know, you don’t have to let this bother you at all. You can continue with no reaction, no comment, no further thoughts about it. You can just let it be or let it go.”

And you know what crossed my mind? Who would I be if I didn’t let petty shit bother me AT ALL?!!?

Really. Who would I be if I didn’t have a complaint or a reaction or an irritation to make light of over dinner or on a call with friends? What comedy would I have? Would I be less interesting or more mysterious? Like, if nothing bothered me — or nothing small, anyway — would my friends be perplexed? Would I be Sphinx-y? And what would I do with all that brain space and emotional energy if shit didn’t bother me?

Because what used to bother me before just doesn’t now, or I have to put in a pretty good effort to make it irritate me, which seems really moronic. But, yes! This is part of evolving, shifting into a higher self, being happier, having a more regulated nervous system. And it’s pretty effing cool, even if it feels slightly foreign.

Here’s the thing I want to stress: Being holistically happy means you get to be the very true you. You aren’t becoming a different person. It’s more like stripping off layers of old paint to get to the natural wood, the innate beauty. There’s nothing phony or performative about it.

It’s sort of a big thing to shed, though; letting go of petty BS. It can feel a little wobbly. Because anger and irritation can be big parts of our personality. Know why? They are forms of power, protection and control. They are aspects of our moral authority. They are facets of our ego. And not being bothered by petty shit is a sign that our ego/nervous system/subconscious/inner child is growing up. It’s relaxing. It’s feeling safe. And when that happens, big changes occur.