Letting an old dream go clears space on the shelf for one that fits who you are now.

Holding on to a dream that no longer fits occupies the space where a current one would go. It stays partly because letting go feels like admitting the years were wasted, and partly because the old version of you chose it and abandoning it feels like abandoning them. Neither of those is true.

Give yourself permission to grieve it properly rather than quietly carrying it. Then notice what you would consider if the slot were empty. Something has probably been waiting for the shelf space for a while.