Let It Go!

Let It Go!

Obsessive personality – I own it. When something plants itself into my mind, it will grow and grow like vines in the wild. This trait has served me well over my lifetime. For instance, as a child I would be determined to learn something and would practice for hours until I got it. I taught myself to French braid my hair, shuffle cards with the arced shuffle at the end, perform cheers for cheerleading, do the splits, play the trumpet and French horn, and twirl flags for marching band. Hours upon hours I would practice, practice, practice, not giving up until I could perform the task with relative ease.

As an educator, my obsessive personality led me to be quite successful. If I came across a problem, I would not stop thinking about it until I found a solution. Whether it was related to student academics and behavior or related to school operations and community involvement, I was all in. If I failed, I didn’t throw in the towel. Instead, I would analyze the process, revamp the plan, and try again. Complete failure was not an option.

Yes, my obsessive personality has served me well. However, it has also led me down some dark roads. That same obsessive personality would have me fixated on emotional issues as well. If I had a disagreement or dispute with someone, I would worry, stress, and overthink every action and every word. Often times, I blew it out of proportion because my brain could not let it go until I felt there was a resolution.

Now that I have to spend so many hours in my head because I cannot physically do anything else, I have noticed my emotionally obsessive traits have ratcheted up tenfold. If someone says or does something that bothers me, I will start spiraling. Entire days wasted and long sleepless nights, all because I cannot shut it down. Frequently, my brain warps the situation into being worse than it is.

I recognize the negative impact this behavior has on my physical and mental well-being, but when you have so many hours locked in your head, it is hard to swim your way out. However, being aware of my tendency to obsess, I have been working on letting things go. In fact, one of my coping mechanisms is to sing “Let it go! Let it go!” from the movie Frozen. It is not 100% effective. I still will spiral into stupidity on some issues, but I have been successful in moving past a few emotional turmoil situations at a faster pace.

I’m learning to just “Let It Go”.

The next time something hits you the wrong way and you find yourself burrowing down into negative obsession, I challenge you to find the song “Let It Go”. Crank it up in your car, office, or head and just sing at the top of your lungs. Find peace and “Let It Go”!