I use the word “learning” instead of “learn” because letting go is an art that you will spend your life practicing. Yet this is nothing to be discouraged about. The whole idea of living your life as a practice is that there is no final state of perfection. You always can improve.

Letting go is an essential practice for what George Leonard calls “Mastery”. Letting go, or surrendering is an essential practice because resistance is the adversary of the Master.

Looking back on my own life, I can see how I couldn’t let go of looking good. I never stayed with many endeavors because I couldn’t surrender to the clumsiness, awkwardness, uncertainty, confusion and frustration that comes with learning a new sports/skills/arts. Unless I could learn in private where no one could see me.

Even with skills that I had natural talent at I turned away from because of this fear of not looking good. The fear of what others would think of me because I wasn’t already skilled and accomplished kept me from practicing to acquire that same skill and accomplishment.

Letting go is such an essential practice that I’ll be posting about it many times. Would love to hear any thoughts you have on the subject.