Does anyone else feel like they kind of crawled into the New Year? As much as I’d like to say I couldn’t wait to turn the page on another calendar year, starting fresh and new, this hasn’t exactly been the case. 2018 stretched me in many good ways, but also sapped my energy and I finished the year feeling drained and a wee bit anxious about the year ahead. 2019 feels daunting in many ways, as I’m preparing for lots of change, but I also know the year has a lot of excitement and good in store. In this new year, I’ve needed a boost to get into the swing of things! But I feel READY to take the year on now, thanks, in part, to one specific practice that’s helping me gain energy and feel optimistic about the year ahead.
The concept is simple.
Decrease the things in your life that drain your energy in order to increase the things that give you energy.
One straightforward way to do this? Stop putting up with “tolerations” in your life and start handling them.
Tolerations are those little, or big, things that annoy you, nag at you, drain your energy, clutter your mind and kill your vibe! They can be behaviors, circumstances, bad habits, annoying things about your physical space, chores you keep putting off, etc. Think cluttered spaces, mildew in the shower, broken things, poor exercise habits, too many emails, people that don’t respect your time, unmet needs, a difficult situation at work, unproductive meetings, etc. Tolerances exist in all areas of your life, including home, work, finances, health and relationships. They include things you have complete control over, as well as many you feel you do not. They can be anything.
Tolerations eat away at us and can keep us from feeling fulfilled. They are like invisible shackles, holding us back.
They may seem insignificant, but the cumulative impact creates resistance and slows us down from reaching our larger goals.
We always have that nagging sense of trivial things that need to get done or are bothering us, and that undermines our ability to get the important things done. It also hampers our ability to truly rest, as they are always floating around our in the back of our minds.
So, try this exercise and stop tolerating and start solving. Here’s how.
Identify everything you are tolerating and WRITE IT DOWN. Be very specific. When you write it down, you acknowledge it as an energy drain and are now likely to do something about it! Decide which ones you can take immediate action on and start knocking them out. (It’s a good idea to set aside a day or weekend to dedicate to tackling your list.) Crossing the easiest ones off your list first will help you gain some momentum for the more challenging ones. There will be things on your list that seem like they have no solution. That’s normal and expected. Just leave them there on the list and the solution will present itself in time. This isn’t an overnight process, some solutions just take time!
Keep in mind there will be some pivotal tolerances, that once taken care of will knock several others off the list. Phew! Others should be delegated, or hired out. It will be money well spent. Just do what it takes. The pain of it will be short lived, but the rewards will be amazing!
Reducing tolerations creates ease, a sense of purpose and opens up space and energy in your life so you can get going on your goals.
You’ll also raise your standards and start to keep up when things break down. It’s a fact that it’ll never be perfect. You’ll accumulate more clutter, your house will get dirty, things will break, you’ll face challenging situations, but you’ll have more of a system in place to stay on top of things.
So, what are you tolerating?
Without any pressure of taking action on it, just make your list. This is a powerful exercise in itself, without even beginning to take action! When you’re ready, start going at it.
I’m chipping away at mine, not as quickly as I’d like, but progress is progress, and it’s definitely given me the energy boost I needed to feel like I can take on 2019 with energy, purpose and much more ease!
Think you’ll try this? I’d love to know!
