The first difference between them lies in the degree of control you have in the situation. Letting go is an effective response when the situation is not in your control. Some of life’s biggest tragedies and disappointments fall into this category. Death of a loved one, a natural calamity, diagnosis of an untreatable condition.
The only choice we have here is changing our mindset, which means accepting the situation and letting go of the desire to change it.
The second difference between them lies in the conscious choice to invest effort or not. Letting go is an effective response when you have some degree of control in the situation, but make a conscious choice not to invest effort in changing it because it’s not worth it, or for the greater good.
Letting go is also a smart response in petty arguments where you feel maintaining peace is more important. There could be situations where you may have been harmed, but the effort required to create consequences is too large, and distracts from your life priorities. Or simply put, the cost benefit doesn’t work out for you.
So you decide to let go and move on. Like Churchill said “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks”.
Giving up is different from letting go, in that you have a fair degree of control in the situation where you are “giving up”, but you do not wish to put in the effort. The issue is also important enough for you, but you just don’t want to do the hard work.
It is a lack of determination and perseverance from your end. Giving up could be laziness, inertia or at times cowardice.
Peace is the after effect of letting go. Regret is the after effect of giving up.
Letting go is a release and an expansion. It means taking back control. Giving up is quitting, and making yourself a victim of circumstances.
Giving up comes easier than letting go.
It is important to understand the difference between the two so you label them accurately. The way you frame your decisions and your inner dialogue impacts your relationship with yourself. Your relationship with yourself is your self-worth.
Giving up will subtract from your self-worth. Letting go will not. A life pattern of “giving up” is fatal for your self-worth.
We are more guilty of giving up on goals that matter, and NOT letting go of things that don’t really matter. Which are the goals in life that you need to hold onto and persevere, and not give up? And what is it that you need to let go off?
