Learn to cope with loss before trying to hold on to something.

A woman hesitates for years about selling the house where she lived with her deceased partner. Financially, selling is logical. Yet every step towards selling feels like saying goodbye all over again. Once that loss is acknowledged, the choice becomes more understandable.

What becomes easier to choose when you first name what you are afraid to lose?

Sometimes a decision is not really about a house, money or a position. It is about what that house, that money or that position means to someone. When you understand that, the conversation becomes more human.

Do not say someone cannot let go. First ask what is behind holding on.