Let Go of What Holds You Back - Rabbi Tzvi Sytner

debbie was working in her office when her son ben comes running in holding this large precious voz that her great grandmother had given her she right away starts yelling ben put that down you're gonna drop it ben says i can't i i can't get my hand out she says of course you can you got your hand in get it out he says no no i know but i tried i just can't get it out now that he starts getting a little worried so she gently tries to pull his arm out but his hands won't budge so she tries loosening it with soapy water it's still not coming out then she puts vegetable oil around she still can't get his hand out eventually she becomes so frustrated and she says i give up i'd give a hundred bucks right now just to know how to get his hand out ben looks up and he says really and then she hears a clinging sound and he slides his hand right out of the vas debbie's shocked she turns the vos upside down and a quarter falls out she looks at ben she says what's this he says it's the quarter that i found inside i really really wanted it so i was holding on to it but i couldn't get my hand out but when i heard you say that you would give a hundred dollars just to have the vos free i let go of the quarter and i took my hand out we all have things that we hold on to because they're important to us but sometimes that very thing is what's holding us back think about it maybe you feel strongly about the way things should be done in your house or at work and you find yourself butting heads with your spouse or your co-workers maybe you're holding on to a grudge against somebody and and you're carrying that anger around for years maybe you want things to be perfect and your perfectionism is holding you back from accomplishing your goals so how do we let go i think we can only let go of the quarter when we can see what we're losing by holding on meaning yes you can hold on to being right with your spouse but are you passing up on a happier marriage yes you could hold on to your grudge but are you giving up on having peace in your family you can hold on to your fear of making a mistake but is it worth giving up on achieving what you really want a powerful way to let go is to step back and see how we're losing out in life by holding on so the next time you find yourself hung up on something ask yourself what do i really want here what's my big picture goal do i want to be right or do i want to be happy do i want the quarter or can i let it go for the hundred