The first of the LIFEPASS principles is ‘Let go’. Easy to say, sounds OK, but what does it mean? Here are three intended interpretations.

Let go of the plan – especially when it is apparent that the plan is no longer serving you. If you are comfortable with uncertainty, and you also know the direction in which you wish to go, you don’t need to stick to a detailed plan once something has gone differently from the expectations that are implicit in the plan. Otherwise you are trying to get back onto a course that would no longer be considered optimum. Your satellite navigation adjusts each time you take a wrong turn or the traffic ahead changes. It may be improvising better than you (or more likely your organisation).

You don’t need to stick to a detailed plan once something has gone differently from the expectations.

Let go of perfectionism or of the need to always be right, the best, top, and win every time. Even if you like to excel, the concept of perfect doesn’t apply in non-competitive contexts, such as relationships. There is no such thing as a perfect parent, even in theory, as Bruno Bettelheim reminds us in his classic book, A Good Enough Parent. Likewise with a good enough career and a good enough fitness regime.

It may be more useful to visualise a positive outcome than a negative.

Let go of undue tension and anxiety. These are usually bound up with unhelpful stories we are telling ourselves about a future that’s not yet happened. Do you know what’s going to happen? If you don’t, then it may be more useful to visualise a positive outcome than a negative.

What can you usefully let go of?

Read more about the eight LIFEPASS principles including Letting Go on Easy: Your LIFEPASS to Creativity and Confidence.