When life seems overwhelming, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to let go of what we are hanging on to. The problem is, sometimes we don’t realize we are hanging on.  One sign to look for is an endless cycle of thoughts that get you nowhere other than where you began.  Another is physical symptoms. Our bodies are always talking to us.  Have you ever woken up with a stiff neck, yet there is no apparent reason for it? If you look a little deeper, often you will find you had a particularly stressful or challenging week.  These signs are our minds and bodies telling us to ‘back off’.  Instead of obsessing over the same problem over and over (which only makes things worse), try taking a walk, calling a friend, or doing something 'out of the box'. And always apply the 80/20 rule:  spend 20% of the time figuring out what the problem is, and 80% on resolving it.    Anything that is out of your control is best just tossed away.  Ask yourself - what am I holding on to?  What can I do TODAY to simplify?

Some of us often get stuck in our heads, wrapped up in endless thinking that leads us nowhere but more confused than when we started. Or it may lead down a path of sadness, fear, anger, or another negative emotion.  Most of us know that thinking over and over about an unsolvable problem is useless and a drain on our energy. Then why do we do it, and how can we stop?  As human beings, we are wired to want to figure things out.  When there is something that is unexplainable, our brains sometimes don’t know how to handle it.  That’s how our thinking can work against us. The way through this is to learn to let go of useless thinking patterns.  There are various methods to do this. One very effective way is through meditation. Meditation is the process of focusing the conscious mind (the part of us that thinks and analyzes), on one point of focus. This is similar to giving a kitten something to play with so she doesn’t climb up the curtains.  With our minds, this keeps the thinking part on one object so that we can become a silent observer of our thoughts. Over time we can see more clearly our thinking patterns, and be in a positive to change them. Another effective method is hypnosis. In hypnosis, the conscious, thinking part of our minds is on the backburner, and our subconscious is at the forefront. In this state we can teach ourselves to literally let go of thoughts we don’t want to keep thinking about.  Then, when in a conscious state, we can re-access the hypnotic experience and let go of unhelpful thinking patterns.  Our minds are powerful, and we can learn to use them to make positive changes in our lives.