I Forgot to Be Afraid

If you’re anything like me, you live with a lot of fear. Many of us do. I can become overwhelmed quickly and feel anxious about the simplest things. However, recently, I forgot to be afraid, and here is what happened.

Forgetting is Letting Go

My daughter asked for my help with a project for school. Usually, I might stress about this and worry that I won’t be able to figure out what she needs help with or that it will take so long that I will start to feel anxious.

On the day she arrived, I had a call scheduled with a coaching client later. My cat has been sick, and life has been hectic lately. I made my tea and toast and waited for her to arrive. My daughter came in, and we started on the project. It did not go well. We were trying to wrangle a seven-year-old fussy Windows laptop and move files from her Mac to it. After an hour and a half, I finally found a quicker and easier solution, eliminating the Windows laptop from the equation.

We chatted a bit before she left, and as I hugged her goodbye, I realized I completely forgot to be afraid, and I felt great. If only I could bottle up that solution and use it every time.

Forgetting the Physical Stuff

I get so caught up in my own head that I often stress about stuff so much that I ruin it. I was delighted that I forgot to be afraid this time and ended up having a calm, enjoyable visit with my daughter despite our challenges.

Over the years, this same “forgetting” technique has also worked wonders with physical ailments. It really hammers home the idea that what you focus on becomes your reality.

For example, with all the heat and humidity, my knee started hurting badly during the latter part of summer. It got worse and worse until I was icing it every night. Yesterday, I was running up and down many stairs doing laundry, and I suddenly realized I had forgotten all about my knee, and it didn’t hurt at all. Now, the funny part is that my knee twisted a bit about 10 seconds after having that thought, and I felt a pang of pain.

When I forgot about it the rest of the day, there was no pain until I remembered it. What a powerful tool! If we can just let go entirely of things we don’t want in our experience, they will fade away effortlessly.

Forgetting is Also Forgiveness

They say that to forgive is not just to let go but to forget completely. Because if you think about it again later, all those negative emotions may return. Just like my knee pain.

When forgiving someone, be sure to completely let go of any residual resentment and anger so it won’t come back to bite you later.

Give Forgetting a Try

It may not be easy at first, but the best way to forget about something you want to let go of is to refocus your attention on something positive, like helping someone else. It takes a bit of practice, but give it a try. See if forgetting works for you. Please let me know if this helps you in any way.