Lesson 9: Let It Go
Quote: Forgiving others and to Let It Go is a gift you give yourself.
Statement: To ‘Let It Go’ when someone has hurt you can be very hard. However, there is growing evidence that when you don’t it causes you more pain and hurt. Letting go is not about forgetting that it happened, or giving in to them. It is more about releasing yourself from the situation.
Research: According Dr Carolyn Leaf, a cognitive neuroscientist, “75% - 95% of the illnesses that plague us today are a direct result of our thought life. What we think about affects us physically and emotionally. …There are intellectual and medical reasons to forgive and [let it go]! Toxic waste generated by toxic thoughts can cause [many illnesses]. Consciously control your thought life and start to detox your brain!”
Tips to teach this skill at home:
1. Help your child to understand that to Let It Go and forgive is a decision. It may help them to draw, talk or write about it to help process the hurt and be able to get it out and Let It Go.
2. When your child is calm, try to help them reflect on what they have learnt from the conflict. What could they do differently next time so it won’t happen? Sometimes the only lesson we can teach our children is to reflect on how much the conflict hurts them and for them to never do the same to someone else.
3. Help your child to avoid blaming, hating or judging the other person. This type of thinking will slow down their ability to let it go. Help them to see the other side. Maybe there is a reason for the other person’s behaviour. This doesn’t make what they did right, but sometimes hurt people, hurt people. Teaching empathy helps your child to let it go.
4. With your child, visit the BRIDGE BUILDERS® Online Learning Program Lesson Nine and do some of the fun activities as a family. Validating this learning empowers your child with valuable skills to learn how to; Let It Go and be empowered for life!
By Jocelyne Chirnside
www.EmpoweringLifeSkills.com.au
Empowering Life Skills