After Disney’s blockbuster animated film Frozen won an Oscar this year, it’s Oscar-winning anthem “Let It Go” sung by Idina Menzel, got plenty of airtime on the pop and adult contemporary radio stations. Even if you didn’t see the film, the song’s refrain serves as an excellent mantra for our every day challenges whether they are just annoying inconveniences or Kilimanjaro-esque problems. Our natural human behavior is to control our environment, control others, control our emotions. The conflict arises when things happen beyond our control and manifests itself into physical and emotional stress.
Let. It. Go. Three simple words to help us move from stress to acceptance. Wikipedia defines acceptance as “…a person’s assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) without attempting to change it, protest.”
A family member chooses to attend a work event rather than your child’s birthday party. Let it go. Recognize that individual has different values and accept them for who they are not who you want them to be.
A co-worker receives a promotion over you. Let it go. Recognize this other person has been chosen for the position and accept you may have talents better served in your current job or a future opportunity.
The company break room is a cross between a science experiment gone wrong and an episode of Hoarders. Your boss directs you to clean it up before upper management visits your facility. Let it go. Recognize this is out of your normal job description and accept the chore as a challenge and change from your everyday work routine.
So whether your challenge is annoying or life-changing, close your eyes, take a deep breath and say out loud “let it go”. Or if you are a fan of the movie Frozen, close your eyes, take a deep breath and sing in your loudest voice “let it go, let it go…” Moving your mindset from stressed to acceptance will give you some control over the uncontrollable.