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Think about all the things that worry you. If you want 100% peace of mind, how much would each contribute to that if they went away?
So & So owes you money. How much would that going away contribute to your peace of mind? 5%? Then it’s trivial, not worth putting effort into — forget about it. 15%? OK, that’s significant. Let it go so you can have that 15% peace of mind back. It’s worth letting go to improve your peace of mind by 15%!
This is the strategy to use whether something is disturbing your peace of mind by 5%, 15% or 100%. You can work on all your problems while being detached from the outcomes. Or forget about the problem if it’s not critical to solve. Either way, whether or not your material life improves, you can maintain 100% peace of mind.
Do you ever find yourself mulling over and over some injustice done to you? Does it do anything to solve the problem? No. OCD and catastrophizing serve to maintain that energy — that 5%, 15% or 100% missing from your peace of mind — in the problems or anxieties of your life.
Suggested Practice
- Bring to mind one thing that you can’t seem to let go of. Maybe it’s something cruel a loved one said to you. Maybe it’s how a coworker treats you.
- Say or think, “Thank you for those feelings bringing this problem to my attention.”
- Then say or think, “Will thinking these thoughts and feeling these feelings now help to solve this problem?” Whether or not it’s a problem you can and want to do something about, odds are that the answer to that question is no.
- Breathe in deeply and on your exhale think or say, “I let it go.”
- Picture the energy you have trapped in that problem being released back to you, boosting your peace of mind.
