How to Let Things Go
99 Tips from a Zen Buddhist Monk to Relinquish Control and Free Yourself Up for What Matters
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4.2 • 6 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“You might have encountered the ‘let them’ theory, inspired by the book of the same name by motivational speaker Mel Robbins. . . . Another book with a similar message [is] How to Let Things Go. . . . Perfectly designed for modern readers . . . it provides a deeply practical approach to life.” —Buddhistdoor Global
Feeling overwhelmed? Step away from life's demands and free yourself up for what matters with this succinct and sensible guide by the Zen Buddhist author of the international bestsellers The Art of Simple Living and Don't Worry.
Amid the relentless cycle of news, social media, emails, and texts, it can be hard to know when, if ever, you can take a break from everything clamoring for your attention. The internationally bestselling Buddhist monk Shunmyo Masuno offers a radical message: You can leave it all be, and, indeed, sometimes the best thing you can learn is how to do nothing. How to Let Things Go will teach you to:
Lesson #2: Give people space—being caring and being nosy are not the same thing.Lesson #15: Remember that social media is a tool and nothing more.Lesson #19: Let a relationship come to an end rather than force it.Lesson #40: Think of letting things go not as throwing them away but as setting them free.Lesson #75: Make decisions in the light of the morning—don't rush into them.Lesson #90: Slow down and take more breaks.
With these and ninety-three other practical tips, you can abandon the futile pursuit of trying to control everything and discover the key to a fulfilling social life; individual well-being; and a calmer, more focused mind.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Zen priest Masuno (Don't Worry) touts the merits of living a more unencumbered life in this wise and succinct guide. Contending that letting go is nothing less than a "survival skill" in an age of information overload, Masuno shares brief lessons on letting go at work (set aside one's feelings in order to "get along with... adversaries"; accept personal weaknesses rather than working fruitlessly to overcome them); in personal relationships (observe rather than automatically intervening in others' problems; accept that it's impossible to fully know another person—"when you don't understand, let it go" is the key to a happy marriage) and on social media (maintain "a certain distance" so as not to engage in "futile battles"). Masuno has a knack for turning a phrase to make familiar advice memorable—learning from one's mistakes, he writes, is a way to "remake how we carry the past with us"—even if truisms like "worrying over little things... only makes your life more difficult" might elicit eye rolls. Still, the stressed will find much to appreciate.
