“The only thing a person can ever really do is keep moving forward. Take that big leap forward without hesitation, without once looking back.” – Alyson Noel
IT’S a new year, and there’s something close to my heart that I’ve come to learn throughout my working life. It’s a skill I want to share, and perhaps one worth making your New Year’s resolution.
In this new year, there will be moments when everything feels like it’s moving at double speed. Calendars are packed every single day. Work is relentless. Deadlines blur into one another. You find yourself switching from gear one to gear five, working late nights, and constantly trying to keep up with the demands of the job.
Somewhere between the meetings and the messages, emotions begin to rise: frustration, disappointment, anger, exhaustion.
At first, it shows up subtly, with shorter tempers, restless sleep, and a constant feeling of being on edge. Over time, it grows heavier. You start carrying conversations that already ended, replaying moments where you felt dismissed, misunderstood, or undervalued. You hold onto words that shouldn’t have mattered, but did.
And here’s the thing: in a fast-paced world, emotional baggage accumulates quickly.
We’re often told the best advice is to “push through”, to be resilient, to toughen up. Just hang in there and this will pass. But what we don’t talk about enough is the emotional cost of holding on to everything: the grudges, the unmet expectations, the silent disappointments, the feeling that you’re giving more than you’re getting.
I see you. I’ve been there myself, too. And because of those moments, I’ve learned this: sometimes the best advice in life isn’t about doing more. It’s about letting go.
Letting go doesn’t mean you don’t care. It doesn’t mean you accept poor behaviour or lower your standards. And it certainly doesn’t mean you’re weak. Letting go means you refuse to let someone else’s actions control your peace.
The truth is, in the world we live in, not everyone will treat you fairly. Not every colleague will be supportive. Not every workplace will feel just. And there will be people who project their stress onto you because they don’t know how else to cope. Holding onto resentment doesn’t change any of that – it just drains you.
I remember one of my mentors once shared this with me: Letting go is choosing not to carry what isn’t yours. At the time, I didn’t fully understand what he meant, but over time, it began to make sense.
It’s deciding that a tense meeting doesn’t get to ruin your evening. That a sharp comment doesn’t deserve hours of mental replay. That someone else’s inability to communicate kindly isn’t a reflection of your worth. But it is understanding that your emotional energy is finite and valuable.
As the new year gains speed and momentum, and expectations begin to feel endless at certain points in life, letting go becomes an act of self-preservation.
It looks like pausing before reacting. Asking yourself, “Will this matter in a week? A month? A year?” And if the answer is no, releasing it. It’s learning that closure doesn’t always come from conversations; sometimes it comes from acceptance, from choosing peace over being right.
Letting go also creates space. Space to focus on the work that truly matters, space to show up better for the people who do support you, space to breathe, reset, and remember that your life is bigger than your job and your value isn’t defined by someone else’s expectations.
We often think strength looks like endurance. But real strength can look like boundaries, like walking away emotionally even if you stay professionally, like saying, “This isn’t worth my energy”.
So if this new year feels overwhelming and emotions are running high, consider this your permission slip:
Let it go.
Not because it doesn’t matter, but because you do.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at Shirley.suat@gmail.com.
