Business is an illness.
Think about your own life and the life of those who are close to you. Most of us tend to do as much as possible – filling every waking minute with events, extravagances, tasks, and commitments.
We think doing more brings us more satisfaction, success, etc. When the opposite is often the case.
Less can be far more rewarding in the long run. But we are so set up that we cannot see it.
And so…
When we work, we move quickly and continuously from one task to the next, or we do several tasks – we juggle five things at the same time by the end of the day … and still feel that we haven’t done enough of the right things.
When we finally stop for healthy exercise, we tend to push ourselves as hard as possible … until we are exhausted and sore and less likely to want to exercise tomorrow.
When we go to a nice restaurant, we want to try all starters, drinks and starters and treat ourselves to as much delicacy as possible. And we feel bloated, sometimes uncomfortable, and then our waists stretch.
When we travel to a new city, we want to see everything – every landmark and every photo op – so that we can physically do as much as we can … and we return home exhausted from our trip.
How can we tame our urge to do too much?
Just focus more on doing less with every step.
Be aware of the urge to overdo it.
It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I’m getting there …
When I work, I only do one thing with full focus. And when I catch multitasking or feel overwhelmed, I clear everything from my plate and make a list with just one to three key tasks that I absolutely have to do by the end of the day. And yes, sometimes this list is only one thing long because it helps me focus on what’s really important and not feel overwhelmed.
When I went to the gym two days ago, I had an urge to push myself to the maximum. I noticed this and decided instead to let go of this urge. I did a solid 45 minute workout but left some fuel in my tank. Yesterday I went back to the gym and did another 45 minutes at a similar pace. I would have liked to do the same this morning, but I chose light jogging instead. My training program is sustainable and that’s why I rarely injure myself or miss a day.
When I sit down in a nice restaurant, I don’t try to try and eat as much as possible. Instead, I leave the table alone, but not bloated. I eat less than before. This is something I still struggle with sometimes because it is not easy. It takes practice. The result, however, is that I feel a lot better after every meal and my waistline thanks me.
When I travel to a new city, I don’t try to do everything. I choose a few things and take my time. I then leave town knowing that there will be a lot to see on my next visit – I am leaving and want more of a wonderful thing.
Anyway, I hope you will join me on this trip.
Let’s do a little less … and the less we count for more.
Here are five characters, now is the right time to do it:
You feel overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done. – Remember that tie-up is the biggest mistake most people make and that makes life stressful and overwhelming. It is tempting to fill every awake moment of the day with tasks, events, commitments and distractions on the task list. Don’t do that to yourself. You cannot do everything. You have to let some things go!
They actually try (consciously or unconsciously) to do everything. – Another important topic that so many of us hold in a debilitating cycle of busyness is the imagination in our minds that we can be a hero to everyone everywhere and at the same time. But of course that’s not the reality. The reality is that we are neither Superman nor Wonder Woman – we are human and we have limits. We have to let go of this idea to do everything and please everyone and be everywhere at the same time. They will either do a few things well or do everything badly. That’s the truth. (Angel and I build sustainable, life-changing rituals with our students in the “Goals and Growth” module of Getting Back to Happy.)
You don’t have time to appreciate the space in your day. – Your life is not just about the things you do – it is also about the open space between things. That means the space itself is also to be appreciated. For example, if you spend your morning meditating and reading, morning is not only valuable for meditation and reading – the space around these two activities is also incredible. The time you spent walking to your meditation mat, finding your book, turning the pages, pouring a cup of tea or watching the sunrise … these little open spaces are as important as anything else. Walk up and down so that you don’t hurry from one thing to the next, but also notice and appreciate the gaps.
You have lost sight of your priorities. – Priorities are not dealt with automatically. You have to take time for what is important to you – time for your partner, time for your children, time for creating, time for learning, time for movement, etc. Push everything else aside to gain time. If you say no to other things that sound really exciting, you can say yes to more of what is really important. (Angel and I discuss this further in the “Happiness” chapter of the NEW edition of 1,000 little things that make happy, successful people different.)
Your physical space is a mess. – If you don’t have enough time to organize your physical space, you’re doing too many wrong things. Period. And there’s a good chance you’re buying too many of the wrong things too. Clearing your physical space can result in less crowded mental space – unnecessary clutter attracts us and distracts us in more ways than we often realize. So keep in mind that the question of what you want to have with you in your physical space is essentially the question of how you want to live your life.
Afterthought
I would like to leave you two quotes from our friend Joshua Becker’s book, The More of Less, because I just reread it and absolutely love how his feeling accidentally complements this blog post:
“Our excessive possessions (and obligations) don’t make us happy. Worse, they take us away from the things they do. Once we let go of the things that don’t matter, we can keep track of all the things that really matter. “
“Sometimes minimizing possessions (and obligations) means that a dream must die. But that’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes you have to give up the person we wanted to be in order to fully appreciate the person we can actually become. “
Cheers to make life easy again! ?
It’s your turn…
