Rock Your New Year: Tip #4

Do you need to scale back to grow?  One of my personal development topics this week (She Works His Way, Somer Phoebus) had me ask myself whether I needed to scale back (do less) to grow.  A truth bomb was dropped on me and I find that this truth directly relates to a hurdle that many people face in working towards achieving their goals. 

This idea of decreasing to increase suggests that before growing forward or into more we must adjust and decrease ourselves or areas of our lives to make room to grow.  Think about when you help a child try on new shoes at the beginning of the school year.  What do most parents look for?  Leaving room to grow right?  This is the same concept. We all need room to grow but sometimes there is stuffing in the way of that and we need to clear that out to create the space for growth.

So many times, the reasons we give for falling short of our goals or simply giving up on them revolve around our “busy” schedules, the demand of other’s needs, and not enough of something.  In addition, we are becoming so overwhelmed with information that we are getting stuck on the road to our goals.

To know this is to know what we can change.  To scale back, look at your schedule and identify what is necessary (mark it with a heart), what is important but not critical (mark it with a star), and what is “fluff” or not necessary to your life (mark it with an X).  When you are reviewing these consider what is meaningful and important to you as an individual.  Those items should be marked with a heart, they are life-giving and flourishing activities.  They are keepers.  The stars are probably important but not in your top 5.  The tasks or items marked with an X could likely be marked off completely and your life would continue to flourish.

So, let’s do this.  What can you cross off your list this week to increase (reach your goals)?  What space can you clear for more growth to happen?

More is not better, better is better (Alisa Keeton, The Wellness Revelation). This saying speaks so loudly to so many things in life.  Doing more work is not better, doing better work is better.  More time with your loved ones is not better, better (quality) time with them is better.  More money is not better, better (use of) money is better. More food is not better, better (beneficial) food is better.  More relationships are not better, better (quality) relationships are better.  We could probably apply this to all areas of life.  In decreasing to increase, or scaling back to grow, we are seeking BETTER over MORE.

As we come to the end of our Rock Your New Year series today I hope that you will take these tips forward as you accomplish all your goals.  Today, find where you can scale back to grow.  Where can you seek better over more in your self-care, relationships, work, and leisure life?  GO FOR BETTER!!