Let’s take a look at another key point from Tim Hoch’s Thought Catalog article “10 Ways You’re Making Your Life Harder Than It Has To Be.”

Point number nine is “you can’t/won’t let go.” This is a problem we all have at some point. Perhaps we feel someone wronged us, and we can’t forgive them for it. Maybe we feel shattered because of a failed relationship. Perhaps we have lost something or someone.

However, just like any other challenges we face in our lives, these have the opportunity to be defining moments for us. The way we respond to these moments gives us a chance to grow and better ourselves in new, exciting ways. If we close ourselves off and refuse to let go, we’re never going to move on emotionally and find the happiness we deserve.

While we can never completely forget the struggles we go through, we are able to manage them and learn from them. “Letting go” isn’t about forgetting, anyway — it is about forgiveness.  Forgiving someone is difficult because it goes against our nature.  Simply put…if you don’t choose to forgive, you become enslaved to the very person who you feel hurt you.

Consider what is preventing you from “letting go” of the baggage in your life, and what you can do to turn that around to find joy.