What Can't You Let Go Of?

I Love Oprah - now that I got that off my chest we can move forward. But really - Oprah's Life Class this week talks about The One Thing You Have to Let Go Of. There are several things we have to let go of, and I'm not always 'captain obvious', so sometimes I go about things a bit backwards. If you have a hard time narrowing down your list to determine what you have to let go of, I recommend making a list of things you would Never Never Never Never - Not in a Million years - Never Never Never let go of. Once you have that list, it will make it easier to figure things out. This goes for personal possessions, tasks at work, etc...

Example 1 - I want to clean my office. Instead of deciding what I should get rid of (ie: donate), I make a list of things that I cannot live without: The motivational poster that brings me joy each day, my computer, the discs with the children's pictures, my favorite coffee mug, Seeing Red Cars by Laura Goodrich, Quotable Women coffee table book, and Stan Slap's book. Now, hypothetically, everything else can go. These are the things that I would want to run in for if the house was on fire.

Example 2 - I want to move up in the company by delegating things to grow others (ie: leadership). I make a list of things that I would still need to do to feel valuable: Newsletter articles, training presentations, and annual reviews. The rest is fair game, but those things I enjoy so much that I wouldn't want to stop doing them all together.

Example 3 - I want to lose weight and get fit by eating right and exercising (ie: dieting). I make a list of things I am not willing to cut out of my diet: cheesecake, frenchfries, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I'll eat all sorts of other things and exercise my heart out, but if you told me I could never each cheesecake again, I'd laugh at you. I would rather live life plumply than live it without cheesecake.

By being authentic with myself and admitting these things, it helps me make a list of what is NOT important to me and therefore I am much more comfortable letting go of things. I don't mind giving up cinnamon rolls as long as I can still have one slice of cheesecake each month, but had I not identified cheesecake as a necessity, I might fight back when you deny me a cinnamon roll.

For what it's worth - I find this to be a great way to prioritize and grow.

May your paths be abundantly filled with lemons, sugar, and sunshine!

~Crystal