#33: Editing Your Life: Letting Go of What No Longer Fits

In this conversation, Ashley discusses the importance of letting go of what no longer serves us in order to create space for what truly matters. She emphasizes that many people feel overwhelmed not because they need to add more to their lives, but because they are holding onto things that weigh them down. By recognizing what feels off and intentionally editing our lives, we can find peace and clarity, allowing us to focus on our true priorities and hear the guidance we seek.

In This Episode: 

• We often try to add more to our lives instead of removing what doesn't serve us.
• Letting go can be challenging but is necessary for personal growth.
• Our schedules can become overwhelming when we don't say no to commitments.
• Technology, like our phones, can distract us from the present moment.
• It's important to recognize when relationships or expectations no longer fit our lives.
• Letting go can lead to a more fulfilling and intentional life.
• We have a responsibility to edit our lives for our well-being.
• Creating space allows us to enjoy life and connect with God more clearly.
• Listening to our intuition is crucial, especially when something feels off.
• We can build a life we love by being intentional about what we keep.

Chapters:
00:00
The Burden of Overcommitment

03:05
The Importance of Letting Go

05:59
Creating Space for What Matters

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Okay, so coming off the last couple of episodes, we've talked about creating a life you don't need a vacation from. We've talked about learning how to actually enjoy your life. But I think there's a piece of this that we can't skip. And it's this we can't build a life we love if we're holding on to things that don't belong anymore. Welcome to the Let Me Help Podcast, a lifestyle podcast packed with simple life hacks, organizational tips, real talk on faith and marriage, homeschooling insights, parenting encouragement, health and wellness conversations, and so much more. Whether you're busy juggling life, consumed in the chaos, or just craving some clarity, it's my intention to help make your life a little smoother. One episode at a time. I mean it in a really honest, necessary way. Because I think a lot of us are trying to add more. Add more routines, add more habits, add more intention. But the problem is we're not removing anything. Sometimes the reason life feels overwhelming or disconnected or just off isn't because we need necessarily something new. Maybe it's because something doesn't fit anymore. And we're still trying to carry that. Maybe let's say it's your schedule, like it's too full or it's too rushed. There's no margin in it to do anything else but stay on track. And you feel that, but you keep saying yes, anyways. You keep filling up the schedule with the same old things. Let's take our phones, for example. Maybe it's your phone and you don't even realize how much it's pulling you out of your actual life. It's stealing the present moment. It's getting you caught in the comparison trap until you look up and you've wasted, you know, how much time, precious time scrolling. Maybe it's relationships. Just continue to have the same conversations that leave you feeling drained. No solutions are coming from them, dynamics that don't feel healthy anymore, but you don't know any different. So you just keep doing the same thing. Or maybe it's old expectations, things you thought your life should look like that don't actually align with what you even want anymore. And I think this is the hard part because letting go sounds so simple, especially when we're telling somebody else to do it. But the truth is, letting go always costs us something. So this is where I come back to my faith because I don't believe that God is asking us to carry, or in my case, sometimes drag everything, right? Do you ever feel that way? Do you ever feel like, no, I'm not just carrying this anymore? I'm literally like dragging it through the mud. I don't believe we're meant to live overwhelmed and stretched in like that all the time. I think sometimes obedience actually looks like release, that we can let things go and we can trust that the Lord's gonna take care of that. I have been feeling a lot of this in my own life lately. And I try to share here on the podcast what's really going on without oversharing. But stepping into a new season and entering a new decade, walking through some financial and some personal stress, there's been a lot of moments where I've had to ask, why isn't what used to work working anymore? And then a deeper question is what are those things? Am I holding on to that and adding pressure on my life instead of peace? Editing our life isn't always about becoming someone or adding something new. It's about creating space for what already matters most and potentially needs tending to. There's a lot going on in our lives that maybe are extremely important and are very flourishing, but they need some support and they need some attention. It might look like saying no to things you used to always say yes to. Maybe you've said yes for the last five years to that volunteer position at church and that no longer suits your life, or maybe you need to shift into a different volunteer position, but it leaves no room if you continue to say yes. It might look like changing your routines, even if they've always worked before. Maybe, you know, prepping dinner no longer works on Sundays because you're busy doing family things or whatever it is for you. It might look like pulling back from the noise and just choosing quiet instead. That means you have to say no to some of the fun things that you used to have FOMO about. It might even look like letting go of the aversion of your life that you thought you were supposed to have before, but no longer fits any of your goals or dreams. And now you could choose one that actually fits what's going on in your life today. I want to say this gently but clearly. And I am learning this in real time. If something in your life feels off, it probably is. We need to pay attention to that. We discount our intuition feelings, especially as women, especially as moms, especially as wives of caretakers of the home. When something feels off, pay attention to that. Not with guilt that you haven't taken care of it before, not with pressure that you have to take care of it now, but with honesty that there's something off. Because you're allowed to change things. You're allowed to shift. You're allowed to say, this isn't working for me anymore. This is how we build a life we don't need to escape from, girls. This is how. Not by adding more, but by being really intentional about what we keep and how we tend to what we already have. And when we start to let go of what doesn't belong, guess what happens? We free up space. We free up space. We make room. We make room for peace. We make room for a new connection. We make room to actually notice and enjoy life again. And that's where we start to really hear God more clearly and see the plan he has for our lives. Not when we're drowning in the chaos, but when we step into the space we've cleared for him. So today, I want to take a minute and I want you to ask yourself something. What about your life feels heavy right now? What is it? What feels like it doesn't fit anymore? And what would it look like to let it go? I want to remind you that this is your life. And you're not only allowed to edit it, but you actually have a responsibility to do so in order for us to have lives that we don't need vacations from, and ways that we can actually enjoy our life. Sometimes we have to let go of what's no longer serving our lives. I don't know what that is for you today, but I sure hope that you take a moment to sit with that and to figure out a way to move past it, to free it, to let it go, or to take care of it. Whatever challenge is in front of you that you need to let go of, let today be the day that you do so that you can free space for what God has in store for you. Thanks for listening. I hope there was something that blessed you in today's episode. If you enjoyed it, would you take a second to subscribe to the show or leave a quick review? It helps so much. And if you know someone who could use a little boost, please share this episode with them. Until next time, take care and thanks for letting me help.