How To Let Things Go: Mentally, At Work, Let Go Things That Bother You And Move On
I’ve sat with this one for too long. Like… literally. In my car. At my desk. Lying on the floor staring at the ceiling. All because I didn’t know how to let something go. Something small. But it latched on. You ever get that? The smallest comment, or moment, or feeling—you tell yourself it’s nothing. But your brain won’t shut up about it. That’s when you realize the hard truth: you don’t know how to let things go. Not really.
I used to think time would do it. Like if I just distracted myself long enough, the memory or feeling or ache would dissolve. And yeah, sometimes that works. But not always. Especially not when it comes to the things that dig deep. Sometimes what stays with you isn’t even the thing—it’s what it triggered in you. A belief about yourself. An old story. An invisible wound you didn’t know was still bleeding.
So yeah, I’m not gonna give you some “3 steps to peace” checklist. That stuff never helped me. What I will give you is what it feels like—raw and unfiltered—when you actually begin to learn how to let things go that bother you, how to let things go mentally, how to let things go at work, and eventually, how to let things go and move on. No clean lines. Just real life.
How To Let Things Go That Bother You
I’ll be real. The things that bother me most? They usually don’t look like a big deal to anyone else. A look someone gave me. A joke that felt a little too sharp. A silence that lasted just a beat too long. But they stick. And it’s frustrating, because I know I shouldn’t care. But I do. (Read: Why people feel alone?)
And that’s the first thing I had to admit to myself: it’s okay that it bothers me. Because until I did that, I couldn’t move forward. I kept trying to shame myself into feeling better. That never works.
So how to let things go that bother you? You start with the truth. You tell yourself, “Okay, this hurt me. Maybe it shouldn’t have. But it did.” You don’t try to fix it yet. You just let it exist. Sometimes I write it out. Sometimes I just sit with the feeling. Not feeding it. Not pushing it away either. Just… letting it be.
It softens eventually. Never on command. Never quickly. But slowly, it loses weight. How to let things go that bother you isn’t about deleting the memory. It’s about releasing the grip it has on your body. On your identity. You’re allowed to feel it without letting it define you.
How To Let Things Go Mentally
Let me tell you something I realized in the middle of a panic spiral: I wasn’t thinking the thought anymore—the thought was thinking me. I wasn’t choosing it. It was just… happening. Looping. Spinning. Taking up space.
How to let things go mentally doesn’t mean shutting off your brain. If that worked, trust me, I’d have done it by now. No, it’s more like learning to see the thoughts without living inside them. Like, there’s a huge difference between “I’m anxious” and “I’m having anxious thoughts.” One swallows you whole. The other lets you step back.
And this blew my mind when I first heard it: your brain literally invents your experience of the world. You don’t actually see things as they are—you see your mind’s version of them. Light hits your eyes, flips upside down, gets processed as data, and then poof!—a tree, a face, a bad memory. That’s all mental construction. So if your brain can create the pain, maybe it can let go too. Maybe.
I try to ground myself when I’m stuck in thought. Breathe in. Feel my hands. Look around. Get out of the loop for a second. It helps. Not always. But sometimes. And sometimes is enough. That’s how I practice how to let things go mentally—one pause at a time.
How To Let Things Go At Work
Okay, this one’s extra tricky. Because it’s not just about the job. It’s about pride. Recognition. Feeling useful. Work taps into all of that. You do everything right, and someone still talks down to you. Or ignores your idea. Or makes a passive comment that leaves you staring at the ceiling at 3AM.
I’ve tried all the usual tricks. Deep breathing in the bathroom stall. Venting to friends. Rewriting the email I wish I’d sent. None of it really fixed the feeling. Because the feeling wasn’t about the situation—it was about me. Or who I thought I was at work. (Read: Prayer for miracles)
How to let things go at work started happening when I stopped tying my identity to my output. When I started asking myself, “Is this mine to carry?” A lot of times, it wasn’t. Other people’s moods. Their insecurity. Their drama. It’s not my burden. But it sure feels like it if I let it live in my head rent-free.
So yeah, how to let things go at work isn’t about being passive. It’s about being selective. You don’t have to respond to every energy thrown your way. You don’t owe your peace to your position. And you don’t have to make work your whole world to be worthy.
How To Let Things Go And Move On
There’s a quiet grief in letting go. People don’t talk about that part. You’re not just releasing pain—you’re releasing part of a story you told yourself. About what should’ve happened. Who someone should’ve been. Who you should’ve been.
I’ve clung to so many ghosts. Old versions of me. Conversations that never went how I needed. Apologies I never got. Closure I chased like a dog running after cars. I never caught it.
So I stopped chasing. Slowly. Reluctantly. How to let things go and move on started as a decision. Not a feeling. I didn’t feel ready. But I decided to act like I was. I cleared photos from my phone. I stopped checking their page. I said “no” to my own spiral.
And then I cried. Not because I was sad. But because there was space. Finally. The pain didn’t own me anymore. That’s what moving on feels like. Not forgetting. Not pretending. Just not gripping so hard that your hands hurt.
How to let things go and move on is clumsy. It’s imperfect. But it’s worth it.
Conclusion
I don’t have the answers. I’m still learning every day. Some days I think I’ve let go, and then a song or a smell or a stupid memory drags me back. And I feel dumb. But I’m not. I’m just human.
You are too.
How to let things go isn’t about erasing your story. It’s about holding it lighter. Letting it rest. You can still remember and be free. You can still feel it and not be crushed by it. (Read: Formula for success)
Whether you’re figuring out how to let things go that bother you, trying to breathe through how to let things go mentally, handling the pressure of how to let things go at work, or aching to understand how to let things go and move on—just know you’re not behind. You’re not broken. You’re in the middle of something real.
And real takes time.
FAQs
How do you train yourself to let things go?
By noticing what you’re holding. Noticing what it’s doing to you. Then slowly loosening your grip. You won’t do it perfectly. But you don’t have to.
How to mentally let go of things?
You step outside your thought spiral. Even for a breath. Even for five seconds. You start there. And when it pulls you back in, you step out again.
How do I let go of something at work?
Ask: is this mine to carry? If not, set it down. You’re allowed to care without it consuming you. You can still show up without bleeding energy.
How do you truly let go and move on?
You stop waiting for permission. You stop trying to get every answer. You cry, you breathe, and you begin again. And again. And again.
