You Don't Have To Hold It All

This meditation is for those feeling overwhelmed by constant responsibility and pressure. Through gentle awareness and release techniques, you'll discover what you're holding onto and what was never yours to carry to begin with. You'll finish feeling lighter, more centered, and with clear permission to choose what you carry forward into your life.

Transcript

Hey,

I'm Coach Charlie.

I'm really glad you're here.

Welcome to the space we're creating together.

Let's begin with a question.

What are you holding on to right now?

Go ahead and take a look inside your mind,

Your body,

Your heart.

Notice where you are right now.

The chair is supporting you.

The sounds around you.

Maybe it's the notification dings that are popping up on your phone or tablet.

Or simply it's just the quiet of the space you're in now.

Or maybe what you're holding on to shows up in more than one place.

Let me give you a few moments to look inside yourself now.

So tell me,

What did you find?

Maybe you found pressure.

That pressure to keep leading with calm when you feel anything but.

Or maybe you found frustration.

That frustration that your team isn't delivering fast enough or that the breakthroughs your clients or partners expect feel out of reach.

Or maybe it's worry.

You know,

That all-too-familiar weight of knowing that you have to stay ahead,

Especially when it comes to innovating and keeping up with emerging tech like AI.

Or is it possible that you don't even know what you're holding on to?

You just know that it feels like a lot.

That you're carrying a lot.

Okay,

Let's slow down for a moment.

Together during this meditation we'll explore what wants to be seen by your inner wisdom.

As we settle in,

Sit comfortably on your sofa or in your chair with your back straight.

And when you're ready,

Gently close your eyes and we'll begin this journey.

Allow yourself to let go.

I'll guide you from here.

Let your breath come and go at its own natural pace.

Nice and slow.

There is no right way to do this.

No performance.

No control.

Feel the ground firmly beneath your feet.

You're safe.

You're supported.

You don't need to manage anything right now.

Let your shoulders soften as if you're taking off and setting down a heavy overcoat you didn't know you were wearing.

This is your time.

Your space.

No one needs anything from you right now.

There's nothing to solve.

Nothing to fix.

Nothing to decide.

Just sit here in this space.

It's your space.

Claim it,

If only for this time we have together.

I'll give you a moment to feel the space.

Now,

If any thoughts come up during this time around your to-dos,

The deadlines,

Or expectations in your life,

I want you to do this.

Simply hold them in your hands cupped and then throw your hands up to release them like you're releasing a butterfly into the open sky.

Watch them fly away.

Feel the cool air on your skin.

The quiet around you.

Let this action remind you.

You're safe in your space.

I'll come back in a few moments after you've had a chance to feel your space.

How was that?

What happened as you explored your space?

Did you notice that you've likely been holding on more than you realize?

What have you been holding on to internally?

What have you been carrying?

Maybe it's your team stress that you're holding.

The time demands of each meeting,

Each request,

Each unspoken expectation.

Maybe it's your family's needs the very moment your laptop closes.

Or just maybe it's your own fear that even your best isn't enough.

Or,

Could you be holding any resentment that your voice is not being heard by others?

Like you feel your voice is echoing through the caverns of the workplace with no one listening to your perspective,

Your wisdom,

Or the rich experience that you offer.

So you've been holding it all.

Like it's your job to make the world function okay by these rules and expectations.

You know,

That's a quiet kind of exhaustion.

The kind that hides behind success.

So let's take a moment to acknowledge it.

To witness it.

Because that testimony is the beginning of release.

Here's a quiet part we'll say out loud.

Yes,

There's pressure from everywhere.

Your team,

Your industry,

Your organization,

The rapid pace of change,

AI,

Innovation,

The complexity of leading in this moment,

And underneath all of that constant swirl of demands,

Most of what you're carrying,

It was never yours to begin with.

You've been cosplaying as Atlas.

You know that character from Greek mythology?

He was sent to carry the weight of everyone else's chaos.

But that wasn't your choice.

That was conditioning.

You get to choose differently now.

This is your real disruption.

Your own inner intelligence reclaiming space to breathe.

So say this with me now.

Either quietly to yourself or out loud.

I carry the pressure to fix what I didn't break.

I carry the emotional tone so no one else has to.

I carry excellence like an armor.

I carry the fear that rest will cost me respect.

Let those truths move through you and free you.

Now,

Let's take another breath together.

And with each out breath,

I invite you to let something go.

Anything that arises in the mind.

This is the time that you'll let it go.

And we'll do this together.

So here's how we'll do it.

We'll inhale through the nose and hold for a count of three,

And then exhale through the mouth for a count of three.

Okay?

Let's do this first one together and then you do two more times on your own.

So you ready?

Okay.

Breathe in through the nose.

Two,

Three,

Hold.

Two,

Three,

Exhale through the mouth.

Two,

Three.

Great!

Now,

Do that two more times on your own and I'll be right here as you do it.

How does that feel?

Now,

Let that pressure to perform slip and slide off your shoulders like liquid stress relief.

And you know what?

That need you feel to be unshakable?

Let it soften.

That belief that your value comes from holding it all together?

Let it dissolve.

You're not a filing cabinet for other people to file away and store their emotions.

You're not the storage unit for others unprocessed stress.

You are a resilient feeling individual.

You are a human being and you get to set some of this down even if it's just for now.

Now,

Let's feel what's left when you're not holding at all.

We'll take a moment to do that here and now.

What are you feeling in this moment?

Maybe there's stillness.

Maybe there's release.

Just maybe a little bit of inner peace is peeking through.

What would be different if you chose what you carried from here on forward?

I mean,

Think of it this way.

Just because you can hold it all,

It doesn't mean you're meant to.

That's carrying a load no one asked you to carry.

It gets exhausting and it's not sustainable.

Not for you and certainly not at scale.

As this truth settles in your body,

Take a moment to feel what it's like to give yourself the permission to choose what you carry from here on forward.

As we close,

Take one more breath just for you.

Good.

Feel the ease in your body,

The steadiness of your spine,

The quiet in your mind.

Notice how different this feels.

This is your natural state.

This is who you are when you're not performing.

Let this feeling stay with you.

Let this be the moment you choose yourself.

And when you're ready,

Gently open your eyes,

But don't rush or pick it all back up.

Let what's not yours stay where it is.

Move forward from your center,

Not from the weight you used to carry.

And if you carry one thing forward today,

Let it be this version of yourself.

The one who knows the difference between what shores to hold and what never was.

May you go forward with peace,

Carrying this awareness with you as you return to the rhythm of your life.

Thank you for sharing this space with me.