021- How to Actually Let Go

Dec 2, 2025

Letting go is a gradual and sacred journey. It’s not a weakness to hold on; it’s a testament to our loyalty and love. Najwa encourages us to listen to our pain as a teacher and embrace a slow, intentional healing process. She reassures that setbacks are part of progress, normalizing the struggle while offering practical tools like journaling and community support. Using powerful analogies like the mountain climb, she illustrates that healing happens in layers, helping us to grieve and eventually release what was once dear.

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INSIGHT

Holding On Signals Depth Not Failure

Struggling to let go is evidence of deep care, not weakness.
Holding on shows your capacity for loyalty, commitment, and investment.

ADVICE

Invite Pain In, Don’t Banish It

Listen to your pain and invite it in instead of forcing it away.
Have a conversation with the pain to learn what it wants to teach you about boundaries and pacing.

ADVICE

Go As Fast As The Slowest Part

Move at the pace the slowest part of you feels safe to move.
Use small, consistent steps rather than forcing rapid change to avoid overwhelm.

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Letting go isn’t a single decision. It’s a slow, sacred process.

In this episode of Beyond Words, Najwa explores what it really means to release someone, something, or a dream that once felt like home. You’ll learn why your struggle to let go is not a sign of weakness, but proof of how deeply you love, care, and stay loyal to what matters.

Through stories, analogies, and soulful reflection, Najwa guides you through the gentle art of loosening your grip without abandoning yourself in the process.

"Your struggle to let go is not failure. It’s evidence of your depth.”

🕒 Timestamps

00:00 — The truth about why letting go feels impossible
01:26 — How do you actually make peace with what’s gone?
03:45 — The beauty in your ability to hold on
06:17 — Why holding on isn’t weakness
07:21 — When people make you feel foolish for still caring
08:23 — Listening to what your pain is trying to say
09:26 — The power of going slowly
10:38 — How to ground yourself when you shut down
12:52 — Numbing and distraction as survival
14:59 — “God doesn’t burden a soul more than it can bear”
17:22 — Relapse is not failure
19:36 — Practical steps for letting go
20:41 — Journal prompts to understand your attachment
22:38 — Why time alone doesn’t heal you
25:20 — The rope analogy: how healing happens in layers
28:54 — Climbing your emotional mountain
30:16 — Grieving what you thought would last
31:55 — The parts of you that still hold on
33:03 — Words That Found Me: Epictetus on acceptance
35:07 — The nature of impermanence
36:16 — Final reflection and gratitude

🧭 Show Notes

In this episode, Najwa shares:

The real reason it’s so hard to let go
How holding on can be an expression of loyalty, not weakness
The difference between forcing closure and finding peace
What grief actually looks like when love still lingers
How to stop judging yourself for still caring
Why letting go takes safety, patience, and time

Key quotes:

“If it took you years to hold on, you can’t let go in a day.”
“Your ability to hold on shows not your weakness, but your power.”
“You don’t let go by deciding to forget; you let go by deciding to feel.”
“Maybe you were never meant to drop the mountain — only to climb it.”

Mentioned in this episode:
📖 The Only Constant – “I will go as fast as the slowest part of me feels safe.”
🎵 Gentle With Myself by Karen Drucker
📜 Epictetus — “Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish...”

Reflection prompts:

What am I still holding on to that no longer holds me?
What part of me is afraid of what life will look like when I finally let go?
What small step could I take today to release one thread of that rope?

Listen and remember:
You don’t let go by being stronger.
You let go by being gentler with the parts of you that still care.