I used to think letting go meant giving up. But the truth? Clinging to control was what was breaking me.
Turns out—letting go wasn’t losing. It was the move that set me free.
The Wake-Up Call
I assumed anxiety was the cost of success.
Manage every detail.
Chase every risk.
Fix every flaw.
And for a while, it worked—until it didn’t. I was burnt out. Resentful. Tense all the time. I knew it wasn’t working, but I was still convinced the solution was to try harder.
Then a coach asked me three questions that stopped me cold:
“Is your life in danger?”
“Is something trying to eat you?”
“Is your family at risk of starving?”
No. No. And no.
“Then why,” he said, “are you acting like it?”
Fight, Flight… or Freedom?
Fight and flight are ancient reflexes—useful in emergencies, not as business strategy. Still, entrepreneurs live in survival mode long after the threat has passed. We call it leadership. But really, it’s our nervous system stuck on high alert.
Always bracing.
Always gripping.
Always scanning for what might go wrong.
We mistake surviving stress for strength. And we mistake letting go for giving up.
But letting go isn’t running away. It’s choosing not to live in survival mode in the first place.
And that choice? It’s hard. Because most of us don’t feel safe enough to let go. We don’t just want to succeed—we want certainty. We want to bulletproof the future. We want control.
But here’s the truth:
You don’t actually control the things that matter most—your children’s health, your most precious relationships, how many years you have left to live.
And clinging to that illusion? It’s what drains us.
Ask yourself:
Is a stressed-out life of nonstop worry and fear really worth holding on to?
Gratitude as Groundwork
Letting go didn’t come naturally to me. I didn’t just wake up one day and release control. I had to practice feeling safe—before I could practice surrender. And for me, that started with gratitude. Not the performative kind. The pattern-breaking kind. The kind that kicks in when your nervous system starts to spiral—and you pause to ask:
“What’s going right?”
Even in chaos, something always is. That shift rewired me. I stopped obsessing over the 1% that wasn’t working and started noticing the 99% that was—without me forcing it.
I realized something true.
There was always more to be grateful for than to complain about.
Gratitude didn’t solve everything. But it gave me space to breathe. To soften. To lead from trust instead of fear. That was enough to begin. And enough to keep going.
Small Releases. Big Reps.
Letting go isn’t one big leap. It’s a series of small choices. I didn’t start by handing off the whole company. I started by:
Letting someone finish their thought without jumping in
Sleeping on a decision instead of reacting right away
Saying “I trust you” to a teammate—and meaning it
Each release was a rep. And over time, those reps built a new kind of strength— the strength to make space. Space for others to rise. For clarity to emerge. For life to move without constant push.
The world didn’t fall apart. It opened up.
Letting go is a paradox. When I stopped gripping so tightly, something surprising returned:
Joy.
Ease.
Breath.
Letting go didn’t make me weaker. It made me lighter. More present. More free.
And the moment I stopped fighting—I finally started winning.
Want to try it?
Your Mantra:
I am safe. I’m grateful for myself and my circumstances while I work to improve them.
Your Micro-Practice:
Notice when you’re in fight-or-flight.
Ask: What am I gripping to that I don’t need to?
Name three things going right.
Release one small thing—and see what happens.
—Stavros
If this resonated with you, please consider:
Commenting—it helps a lot.
Subscribing to get the rest of the series as it’s released
Sharing this with someone who needs it
This isn’t just a content series. It’s a movement to redefine what success means—and we’d love to have you with us.
This is the third article in a 7-part series on The 5 Practices of Entrepreneurial Freedom. In the next article, we’ll explore the third practice: Make Things Happen—and why creation feels lighter, faster, and more fulfilling once you’ve learned to let go.
Follow along in this series: