Both are skills you can learn, practice, and get better at. One is more important than the other.
No matter how hard you try, there’ll only ever be a few things you can hold on to in life. Choosing those things carefully matters. If you do so, however, you can set yourself up for a lifetime of happiness with just a handful of good decisions. Your relationship with your partner. Your dream career. Maybe a desire to have children and raise them well. What else could you need to hold on to?
Letting go, on the other hand, is a habit you’ll need on a daily basis. Can’t make the 9 AM bus? Let it go, catch the next one. Your hairdresser closed up shop? Let them go, find a new one. Not gonna make promotion this year? Let it go, try again. Time, money, and energy constraints will force you to let go of a million things in life, and if you struggle with acceptance, you’ll suffer every single time that happens.
In a universe that pits you against infinity, the winner is already decided. There are only so many rounds to go, and while you can’t change the outcome, you can decide how you’ll play the game. Surprisingly, that is not only enough — it’s everything.
Hold on to what you can’t do without, let go of the rest, and live in peace rather than die with regret.