When life gets busy or unsatisfactory, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and uncertain about how to make things better.
One simple tool that I like to use in these circumstances is to ask myself two easy questions.
1) What’s one thing that I can subtract from my life right now?
2) What’s one thing that I can add to my life right now?
The answers to these questions could involve obligations, physical items, relationships, routines, or thought patterns.
Pick one thing to let go of and one thing to add to your life this week.
Each of us has the power to make choices in our lives. It’s important to exercise that power regularly. These questions serve as helpful reminders to actively influence our lives. Using this tool often can also build up your decision making muscle, which could help you increase your confidence around bigger decisions. Start with one thing to add and subtract today, and then repeat this tool next week.
Over time your life will become a truer reflection of the life you want to be living.
What will you add or subtract this week? Leave a comment below!
I think that we need continually sort through our lives to let go of what no longer serves us – activities, people, stuff, practices … even automatic emails. I think that it’s easy to get rid of those things that are truly negative, but when we can be discerning enough to let go of the good and excellent to make room for the genius, then the stuck-in-place-overwhelm is replaced with moving-on-moving-up passion. Whenever I hit a point where I feel a “yuck” pang, then I know it’s time to do a life-sort! This fits with Martha Beck’s “shackles on” or “shackles off” assessment.
Yes! Well put Leslie. I like the term ‘life sort’. That’s exactly what I was trying to convey. We know to sort our cupboards and inboxes, but sometimes we forget we can also sort our lives. 🙂
For other readers, the shackles on/ shackles off assessment is to check to see if something feels constraining (shackles on) or freeing (shackles off). Then try to move in the direction of freedom. It’s a great shorthand to help with decision making.
This is a great reminder. I really want to drop feeling obligated to people and ideas I barely know in order to stay true to what is most important to me. It causes me to constantly feel guilty that I can’t make everyone happy. I love the shackles on/off check in and think that would actually be a great thing to add to help with the obligations I want to drop!
Thanks to you both!
So glad that these ideas resonated with you Jenny! Thanks for stopping by and sharing what you would like to drop. I hope it goes well for you!