Good Grief: Saying Goodbye to the Old You

I have lost very close family and friends over the years-something I’m sure many of you can relate to. Dealing with grief is never easy. It requires a tremendous amount of emotional resilience and commitment to healing after losing those we hold dear. Equally challenging as saying goodbye to someone we love is saying farewell to parts of ourselves that no longer feed our souls in healthy ways as we strive to become better people.

For some of us, we make the decision to eat healthier, exercise more, read more books, leave an unfulfilling job, or indulge less in unhealthy habits- be it excessive food consumption, media, or the pressures imposed by social expectations. We recognize that there’s healing on the other side of these habits, yet struggle with the arduous journey. 

To say goodbye to older versions of ourselves means that we are willing to shed what has become familiar and replace it with something new. We replace the unfulfilling job with an entrepreneurial venture, trade mindless media consumption with book reading or being present with friends, or replace processed foods with healthy fruit and vegetables. 

This change is hard, but can be worth it in the end. To change for the better means showing up more fully for ourselves, so that in the long run we can show up better for our families, friends, and communities that depend on us. However, we must grieve first. We must say goodbye to who we once were so that we can experience the person we can become.

I have a lot of grieving to do. 
What about you?