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The topic of letting go is enormous now, but often it is misunderstood. You may think the principle of letting go has limited use in business and only happens when things end. However, when you fully understand letting go, you realise it is the most powerful tool you can use in business because it works ALL the time, in every situation, and with every person. It works at the most fundamental level across all industries and sectors. It works whether you are a CEO or a new employee. There is not a single business situation that does not bring tremendous benefits by using this tool.
Most people associate letting go with doing something outside themselves. In other words, they might need to let go of a staff member, a demanding customer or even a project which is not going too well. On the grander scale of things letting go could mean letting go of an entire business. However, this is external letting go. Actual letting go happens much more deeply.
Letting go happens at the level of feeling.
Actual letting go happens internally. It is your hidden suppressed emotions and the thoughts that accompany them that need to be relinquished. Only when these internal feelings dissolve should we think about letting go of anything external. It is essential to understand that our hidden feelings act as the glue for our beliefs; without letting them go, we can never change them. In other words, without successfully releasing these feelings, the thoughts are locked into place. What kind of feelings? Feelings include frustration towards an employee, confusion about what direction to take a business, and uncertainty about the future. The list goes on and on. You can let go of all these feelings, giving you much freedom.
Now ask yourself, does this make sense? Of course, it does. Our feelings always appear when we approach our limits and when problems arise. They are the brake that stops the smooth acceleration of our business. These feelings are self-generated, internal, and mechanical and hinder every part of the creation process. They stop us in our tracks and cause us to make decisions not aligned with our highest interests. However, when they are successfully relinquished, new opportunities and insights appear, as well as the energy needed to activate them.
Creating a stress-free business
Often in business, we find ourselves pushing and forcing. For most of my 20 years in business, this was my approach even when I said I knew better. Pushing or forcing happens most when we come up with a challenging situation or person. We bring our attention to the outside world to try to change it. However, what if there was a more straightforward solution? What if there was a way to be completely relaxed in business ALL the time, and we never needed to push? What if we could access our intuitive and creative capabilities consistently?
What we carry inside us prevents us from genuinely flowing in our business.
The need to ''push'' comes because of an unprocessed feeling, and fear is often the feeling in question. When fear dissolves, we become relaxed with our customers, employees and clients. We have complete trust in ourselves and, in turn, the circumstances that unfold before us. When we take action, we do so from a powerful place aligned for the highest good for everyone involved.
Unprocessed fearful feelings prevent us from being relaxed in business, and they start to make an appearance under certain circumstances and with specific individuals. Fear prevents us from clearly seeing situations and people. However, other feelings appear during work, including confusion, anger, irritation, hopelessness, and many others. These often sit on top of our core feelings of unworthiness or not feeling good enough.
I remember once I had a client who ran a hotel business. He also had several restaurants and properties and was highly successful by many standards. However, he told me he felt the exact opposite when socialising with certain extremely wealthy people. For example, when spending time with his billionaire friend, he was ashamed to invite him to his own home because he didn't feel it met the expectations of this extraordinarily wealthy individual.
When hidden feelings become conscious, they are often unpleasant, and we do anything to avoid them. Rather than face them, we try to change our external world because the illusion is that the outside world makes us feel this way. We try to change people and circumstances so that we can feel better. This approach will never bring the most optimum result.
Changing outer circumstances without dealing with the inner feeling is a recipe for long-term heartache.
Your outer world always reflects the inner. You can try and change the external world, but if you don't deal with the root cause, this approach will eventually fail. You will get repeating situations and wonder why this is the case. The root cause is always your unprocessed feelings. We can see this every day when we encounter that challenging boss who creates an atmosphere of fear and resentment. Often, they are oblivious to this fact and, when approached, will vehemently deny that they cause tension. Instead, they will blame the employees or the circumstances and lack the courage to admit the truth.
Using Letting Go in Business - Two Examples
We will look at two scenarios where you can use the principles of letting go to help improve various aspects of your business. Please remember that the exact feelings and thoughts will vary for everyone, but the principle remains the same.
Problem 1: Employees not following instructions
"I need help getting my employees to follow my instructions. I often repeat myself, and no matter how often I do, they still don't listen."
Traditional Solution: Speaking with them (often with a mild undercurrent of irritation), and if that fails, we might even resort to raising our voices or using threats. Following that, we might send them written warnings and, eventually, dismissal if the same pattern continues.
The Letting Go Solution: This approach places emphasis on YOU. Ask yourself how you feel when your employee does not follow your instructions. Whatever feelings appear must be cleared. For example, if anger is present, this must be let go of to see the root cause. As the 'root cause feeling' is seen and felt consciously, it starts to dissolve. At this point, a new perspective arises about the whole scenario. You may require several rounds of conscious feeling, but the more you dissolve, the more the barrier dissolves between you and your employees. Now when you choose to speak, your energy is different. Now it is more aligned with love and understanding. In other words, your employee is more likely to listen.
Whatever feelings arise are the gateway to the resolution of the issue.
After the initial feelings are relinquished, a more enlightened perspective will come. This renewed perspective will not be visible if those old feelings remain. This fresh perspective will bring with it a new solution. This new solution may mean nothing different needs to happen externally because the feeling that created the barrier has dissolved. There is now a genuine connection, and you have removed the wall to your employee listening. You may see that the employee's needs need to be met and that previously they were not. Going further, it may be that the employee is carrying resentment or is feeling unappreciated. You can then take action to address this. Once again, these insights only have the potential to come after you have successfully relinquished the feeling.
Problem 2: Difficulty getting new clients
"I have tried my best to get new clients, but this always feels like an uphill struggle."
Traditional Solution: The first focus is usually on changing something in the external world. You could use a different approach for a marketing campaign, change your SEO, reword your Google AdWords, or implement a stronger and more focused cold-calling campaign. We may even sack an underperforming sales individual. We use many strategies to attract customers, and often, it becomes guesswork when deciding what to do.
Letting Go Solution: Once again, this approach emphasises YOU. How you feel about this is the first place you look at when having difficulty getting new customers. You do this because you understand that feelings of fear or frustration arise as blocks to true insight and direction. If these feelings exist, they will prevent your ability to get new clients effortlessly.
These feelings are usually accompanied by unconscious belief systems that will place limits on how successful you will be. As the feelings and belief systems dissolve, new insights will come about which direction to take. Without successfully processing these feelings then, you will forever be stuck in the dark, and any actions taken will not come from clarity but from fear. Often, letting go of stressed feelings around customer acquisition will also start the flow of customers.
In Conclusion
The ability to process your feelings around your business and work is vital in creating an effortless flow. It is a diamond of the highest calibre, and when you take those steps, the advantages reverberate around all other areas of your life. This self-growth tool will change your working life, relationships, health, and finances when applied continuously. It enables you to make massive shifts at the most fundamental level of your life experience.
If you are interested, visit my website, www.clearthepath.co.uk and book a free discovery call to find out how you can begin letting go.
About the author:
Daniel Dzikowski is an emotional well-being specialist. If you are interested in working with him or know someone who might be, check out his profile and consider purchasing one of our Gift Certificates. You can also visit Daniel's website and follow him on LinkedIn.