Today, I’m sharing an honest and vulnerable conversation about the business mindset of letting go. I don’t have a complex methodology to break down for you. This is simply a conversation about the lessons I’ve learned from my experiences in business, and how it’s helped me grow as a leader and business owner.
A New Business Mindset: Learning to Let Go from a Mastermind
Last year, I was in a dream Mastermind that I had wanted to be in so badly. While it was an amazing experience, it was also very heartbreaking.
Why? Because it opened up a lot of wounds that hadn’t completely healed. It showed me many areas where I was holding myself back and subconsciously wasn’t ready to let go.
I realized I had been holding onto things that were hindering my growth in a variety of ways. Here are just a few of the lessons I learned from the experience.
Letting Go of Failure and Embracing the Unknown
It’s so common for business owners to get stuck in what they’ve always done and in what’s comfortable. It’s really hard to step into the unknown and be okay with it, but unfortunately, that’s the ticket you bought when you became an entrepreneur.
When mistakes or failures happen, reframe them as a learning opportunity. Lean into the failure or the challenge and find the lesson. When you take on that business mindset, you can learn to let go of failures as a roadblock, and instead view them as opportunities.
Releasing Control to Find Clarity
As business owners, we often try to control every outcome. We think we need to have every step mapped out before taking action. But this business mindset is rooted in fear, and for a while it held me back from pursuing some of my biggest dreams, including writing a book and keynote speech.
We need to let go of trying to control the future. Letting go of control can unlock opportunities and lead to breakthroughs that we would otherwise miss while stuck in a cycle of overthinking.
Letting Go of Outdated Expectations
Many entrepreneurs struggle with holding on to outdated expectations—whether it’s a vision of what the business “should” look like or a desire to return to how things were in the past.
Now that businesses are open again post-pandemic, I hear so many business owners talk about going back to the “good old days.” But clinging to the past prevents us from moving forward and creating something new that aligns with the present.
The world is different. You’re a different person. Just because it worked a certain way years ago, doesn’t mean it’s going to work today. Let go of what no longer serves you to allow space for growth and alignment with your current reality and values.
Freeing Yourself from Unaligned Relationships
This business mindset of letting go also applies to people who no longer align with your business. Whether it’s employees or personal relationships, holding on to those who don’t fit can drain time, energy, and resources. Yet, many leaders resist making changes out of fear of the unknown or the difficulty of replacing someone.
In the long run, staying in these unaligned relationships can hurt your company culture and cost more than any mistake or misstep ever could. Let it go and have the courage to part ways. Trust that creating alignment will benefit your business and the people involved in the long run.
Creating Space for Freedom and Creativity
Create space for yourself to think, reflect, and tap into your creativity. Allow yourself three different types of days: planning days, execution days, and free days. Planning days are to map out strategy, and execution days are to get things done. But free days are for wherever your vision and creativity take you that day.
When you create space for freedom and flexibility, you not only avoid burnout, but you allow your creativity to flourish.
The Business Mindset of Letting Go to Build from the Inside Out
I want to remind you that true growth comes from within. Build from the inside out. Focus on internal development—whether it’s personal growth, leadership skills, or company culture. When you work on the internal aspects of your business, the external results will follow.
Letting go is never easy. It requires vulnerability, trust, and a willingness to release what no longer serves you. But as I’ve learned, it’s in the act of letting go that we find peace, clarity, and the freedom to create something truly extraordinary. We can then reveal the leader, the entrepreneur, the person, the woman, the man that we were always meant to be.
Resources Mentioned
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