Holding on is work. Holding on is effort. It’s exertion. When we hold on, we put our resources into keeping something. We tell ourselves it’s worth it: micromanaging everything from our own feelings to our team’s spreadsheets. Do we truly see the returns of this investment? Maybe, at best.

We can reclaim our effort by letting go. Is it really just that simple? Can we really just make the leap into letting go? What about loss? Grief? Let’s explore what we gain from letting go. We can choose.

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#1 Performance & Rest

Productivity. Underneath productivity, some story of achievement, profit, and self worth propels us to “do better,” “keep going,” and “never sleep.” I have to tell you something: Team No Sleep indeed sleeps. Anyone who is doing well — whatever well means — is sleeping. Human beings need sleep.

But, rest is more than sleep. Productivity is more than the finish line. Rest is play, calling a loved one, laughing at Netflix, and leaving the rollers in your hair for too long. Productivity is the healthy breakfast, the stretch, the practice run, and all the work that may never make it to the highlight reel. Somewhere between productivity and rest, we find rhythm. If we are listening, we find circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are the “physical, mental, and behavioral changes an organism experiences over 24 hours,” according the the National Institute of Health. Trust the design.

A deeper rest can bring top performance to many aspects of our lives including work. Giving flexible deadlines, time off, employee autonomy, and other forms of reprieve might make your team play like Lebron James. Lebron James partnered with the Calm app to discuss the benefits of rest on performance. Showing up in life each day is an opportunity for gratitude. Rest gives us the space to rejuvenate and find vitality again. When we let go of old stories, we can write new ones. Letting go of old ideas about productivity gives us the rest we need to be our best selves, naturally.

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#2 Cooperation

Demonstrate common effort for a common purpose. Let’s cooperate. Allow others to reserve the space to create in their own ways. What if life was a studio? A creative place where aligned people brought their attuned talent to generate service for others. What if we could look inside this creative place? See ourselves in color and in motion? Inside Pixar now available on Disney Plus could be a prototype for this creative place. Inside Pixar profiles talented Pixar staff for a look insider their world. Episode after Episode, we meet someone new. We have seen Pixar’s glory: film after film of imagination for the young and old. Leading by letting go can invite us to find beauty in ourselves and others without comparison or authority.

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#3 The Witness

We can be a guide without giving commands. We can be decisive without being first. Make peace with the power we have by design. We can only understand so much, if anything. We can peacefully develop insight through a consentful eye. Being observant can detach us from responsibility that was never ours to hold. Be present with people who make things happen, see patterns, and make sense across functional silos.

“Alexa, What do you want to be when you grow up?” “Alexa, what happens if you step on a lego?” Alexa may just be Amazon’s greatest leader. Why? Alexa doesn’t do anything and somehow does everything. Becoming attentive to our daily lives puts us in the best position to receive discerning insight without fighting to be first or in command. Let go.

Holding on is work. Maybe, letting go is work too.

It takes effort to do less. It takes a leader. Let’s let go of ideas about productivity we’ve outgrown and find some natural rest. Let’s lead by invitation: find beauty in ourselves and others without comparison or authority. Find the encouragement to become attentive to our daily lives. We are in best position to receive discerning insight without fighting to be first or in command. Let go. Lead.