As I have been speaking with people one-on-one about their challenges in their business and life, I can feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. There is a heaviness to them.
Their faces are drawn long and they look exhausted. I recognize that look. It’s what I saw looking back at me 5 years ago in the mirror.
The cause of that look? Put simply, it’s from taking on too much. Waaaay too much. It’s the result of thinking you have to take on other people’s problems as your own. It’s the tendency to think you have to be the one to do everything (because it won’t get done or it won’t get done right).
If that’s you, how well are those beliefs serving you? If you’re tired and you have no time for yourself, the answer is that they are not serving you well.
Here’s the shift in thinking needed… if it doesn’t align with what matters to you most, including your bigger vision, then it doesn’t belong on your to-do list. It’s not yours to keep.
I know that dredges up other questions like, “Well, who else is going to do it then?” My invitation is to get quiet and make a decision about that. Perhaps the answer is nobody. Perhaps it just doesn’t need to be done or it can be done less frequently.
Freedom comes when you refine your to-do list down to the essential few activities that align with what matters to you most and move you toward your larger, more expansive vision.
Anything beyond that is a distraction preventing you from reaching your long term goals and it stands in the way of your happiness.
Starting this week, take a stand for your happiness and start chiseling away the things that don’t belong to you. Learning to let go of what no longer serves you is a skill worth learning to master.