Letting Go Or Letting Be

Look around your desk and grab a pen, pencil, or any other object that could drop without breaking. A balled up piece of paper will do.

Now, hold it in your outstretched hand, palm facing up.

Give it a nice squeeze and keep squeezing for a full ten seconds.

When you get to zero, let it go. Let it drop.

How did that feel?

Now, let's do it again, slightly differently.

Again, hold it in your outstretched hand, palm up.

Give it a big squeeze, and keep squeezing for 10 seconds.

When you get to zero, let it be, but don't let it go.

How did that feel?

What if you reversed the grip, so your palm was facing down?
Would that change anything?

I just finished up a book circle, where we spent a good amount of time talking about how we impeded our own growth, often through our desire to control the uncontrollable.

We finished with this exercise, which is from Gay Hendricks' book The Genius Zone.

One participant shared how letting go felt more dramatic and more relaxing, while merely letting be didn't feel the same, though she recognized that in some cases she can't let go completely, so letting be might be enough.

Another participant said that letting go put her in a panic, and she went off chasing the ball, while letting be was exactly what she needed.

Is there anything in your work life that you could let go of, or simply let be?

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.
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