Letting go of what's holding you back

Recently, I was listening to a podcast episode featuring Jay Shetty, and something he said stopped me in my tracks.

" you're not stuck because you don't know what to do next. You're stuck because you haven't let go of what's holding you back. "

This really resonated with me. So many of us at a major life crossroads- retirement, redundancy, children leaving home, divorce- find ourselves feeling lost or stuck. We think the problem is that we don't know what to do next. But what Jay is suggesting is that the real challenge is that we are clinging to something that we've outgrown. We are trying to replace the thing we've lost with something similar. Trying to recapture 'normal', when what we really need to do is allow time and space to discover something new.

Jay's words reminded me how hard it can be to let go of something that once defined you. There's a real feeling of grief there. And fear. But also, if we can embrace it, opportunity.

This stage of life isn't about returning to who you were, but about discovering who you will become next.

Letting go doesn't mean forgetting the past or dismissing everything that came before, but learning from it, enjoying the memories and making space for something fresh to take root.

For me, that has meant acknowledging the life stages that have come to a natural end and taking small steps to explore things that I haven't found the time for before. Things that light me up, even if I'm starting as a complete beginner.

If you're feeling stuck, maybe the questions isn't 'What should I do next" but "What am I holding onto that's keeping me from growing?"