2025 is your year to look at your life with a philosophical lens and let go of what’s not serving you to reset your energy, mindset, career, and life – whether as a life coach or a coaching client looking for transformation.

We all have things cluttering up our lives, draining our energy. Some things hang around and we never get the resolved. There can be a lot to let go of – sometimes there’s lots of little things, and sometimes it’s bigger things: needing validation or to fit in, constant criticism or rejection, needing to feel in control, unrealistic expectations, regrets, anger and resentment, negativity, toxic relationships or job, comparing ourselves to others, not feeling good enough, feeling like life is passing us by, fear or limiting beliefs holding us back …

Letting go is a powerful act of transformation, a signal of surrender which shows you trust the divine process and what’s yet to unfold for you. Letting go creates mind energy and space for what you are meant to receive.

Letting go is a constant process and a skill that we continually do every day when we put things behind us. Often we may do this subconsciously, other times consciously. Sometimes we think we need to be superheroes and the biggest and best at everything in life. We may erroneously perceive we are not as good as others or doing as well as others. Yet if we look deep into our lives we are likely doing better than we think. Let go of comparing yourself with others: there is nothing wrong with just being a good and kind human doing your best, too. And in letting go of what we think we are or should be that’s holding us back we become more self-aware, learn the lessons meant for us, step into our power, and learn to climb our own peaks.

1- Replace a Want Mindset with Surrender

Let go of expectations about how things should be. Stop hanging on so tightly. Tell life what you want but let go of focusing or trying to control the how and when – surrender and let the universe decide instead. Hanging on to ideas of desired outcomes creates resistance signaling a focus on lack vs abundance. By remaining focused on certain hopes and outcomes, we are focusing our energy on lack of the thing we don’t have and not leaving space for the abundance pathway that is supposed to unfold for us.

2- Trust the Law of Gestation

Good things do not happen overnight. Everything takes time and has a gestation period. Let go of poking or scratching to check progress or over analyze /interfere/meddle in the how. Surrender to the timing of the universe. If it’s meant to be, it will be. Trust in the process, growth and life plan that’s happening unseen. If our heart and mind is tied to a particular outcome we become too attached to the how, and our energy gets stuck.

3- Know When to change Tack

Be flexible enough to change direction when something isn’t working. There is no such thing as failure, it is a re-direction, not the end, and you will have learned something from the experience on the journey, too. If something’s not working, then it’s not the right thing for you. It’s the universe signaling things aren’t right and steering you toward the path that’s meant for you. Once you tap into the energy of listening to the universe the doors will open, and things will fall into place. If you have to continually bang on the door or the doors keep closing or going nowhere, then it’s not the right path for you. If it’s the right door then it will open for you.

4- Let go of Waiting for the Perfect Time

let go of waiting for the perfect moment or time to do something. So often we think oh, I’ll just do this then I’ll do that, or once I’ve got past this I’ll be able to do the next thing, or when I retire I’ll do this or that … You’ll be waiting forever, and life doesn’t work like that. So often we hear of people working themselves to the bone readying themselves for retirement, then retiring and either ending up with failing health or dying early. They should have done some of the things they wanted to do during their life, not put it off for some future time. None of us know what day is our last day. Live your life today. Start doing the things you want to do now, even if the timing is not perfect or you don’t get to do everything all at once.

5- Let go of the Need for Validation and Acceptance

Choose to live your life without needing the approval of others. Choose whose opinions or advice you value, and let the rest go. If we ruminate on every ‘well-intended’ remark or criticism, we’d let fear of what others think hold us back and never step into our power and who we are truly meant to be. Be mindful of choosing who you share what’s going on in your life with and how much you share with them. People commenting on your life and criticizing are energy draining and likely have nothing going on in theirs. They’re also likely vicariously discussing your life with others too. Focus on your own path and let go of unnecessary noise.

6- Identify What you Need to Learn

If we struggle to let go of something it may mean there is still a lesson to be gained from the situation. Perhaps we still need to take an experience or lesson from the situation that is a critical life lesson before we can move on. Perhaps we feel wronged or unheard and feel the need to keep hanging on to the situation until such time as the right moment presents itself to convey ‘our side’. The reality is that time will likely never come, and even if it does it is unlikely that what you have to say will change others’ perspectives. Not letting go is keeping it going and holding you back from moving on. Embrace writing out your thoughts in a journal as the mood take you, then once a week or once a month rip the pages out and burn them to signal closure and shift the energy away from you so you can step into your path.

7- Keep your Momentum going

Let go of focusing on fixing the big problems and thoughts of having to fix your whole life all at once (ie: everything feels too big and insurmountable than it really is). Focus instead on taking small, actionable steps toward incremental growth and healing. Choose a daily affirmation that resonates with you about gratefulness and incremental healing and growth to shift your perspective and help focus your energy on the steps you are taking rather than those you aren’t.

8- Allow yourself to Heal

Letting go is a time of change and can raise some big emotions that take time to heal. It’s okay to carry some anger or grief about things just don’t unpack your suitcase and stay there. One technique is giving yourself an hour or couple of hours every day (or in a schedule that suits you) to think about those emotions, cry, scream, or whatever emotion that works for you. Once you’ve had that time, you will be able to turn your focus to other good things in your life and focus on moving towards those. Worrying about the process, ruminating and over analyzing things keeps you sucked into the trauma vortex day in and day out that is hard to escape. Surrender and lean into the divine process and timing of the universe, and one day you will just know that you are able to let it go.

9- Use Rituals for Focus and Release

• Nature and Movement: go for a walk in nature, exercise, practice yoga or pilates to help release cortisol and emotions.
• Journal: Write all your thoughts down in a journal then burn the paper to symbolically release them. Writing helps shift all those unresolved or incomplete thoughts and emotions buzzing around in our heads, clarifying and releasing them.
• Nature and Movement: Walk in nature, exercise, or practice yoga to help release emotions physically.
• Meditation: take time to meditate regularly to foster calm and gratitude. Perhaps try pulling a tarot card for further insight.

10- Practice Gratitude

Recognize how far you’ve come, the things you have resolved big and little, and appreciate and savor what you already have by expressing gratitude. You could do this while walking in nature or during mediation. Learning to let go and trusting the process and its timing, finding joy and happiness, gratefulness, self belief and being present is an ongoing practice.

Take small steps and together they will add up to big changes. It is those and your improving self-belief that will propel you forward: your own momentum and beliefs that lift you up and into the life that is waiting for you.