What is the difference between letting go and giving up? Is there one? I think there is. Letting go means not trying to fight reality and accepting what is. But, you still try to keep moving ahead and improving yourself. Giving up means you don’t care any more, so you don’t even try. Mindfulness teaches us to accept, not expect. This is a major part of letting go. Mindfulness doesn’t mean that nothing matters so you shouldn’t even try.

For example, I accept that I am fat. I know I did this to myself over the years. Even if I had external reasons, I still committed the offences against my own health. So, now I go to WW and eat mindfully and try to be more active. I try to be compassionate to myself. Once, not so long ago, I didn’t care about myself and felt that I might as well give up. Thanks to lots of therapy, I now understand that I do deserve to be treated well. I can take care of myself, and improve myself, even while accepting what I am at this point. I can have goals and strive to improve myself, even as I accept myself.