Stop Doing, Start Doing

do

“You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust.
You were born with ideals and dreams.
You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, so don’t.
You have wings.
Learn to use them, and fly.”
— Rumi

There are things in our lives that we love to do, that give us energy, that expand our horizons, that make the view of the world seem just a little brighter than before. Of course, there are also things that we dread doing, that bring us down every time and make our lives seem like one boring trudge after another.

Some of those things are unavoidable. The trash needs to get emptied. The dog needs to get walked. You’ve got to deal with (insert least favorite relative here) during the holidays. Then, there are some things we do because of an urge to contribute – serve on a board, volunteer at school, or sign up to host a fundraiser. And, finally, there are things that just fill up your cup such as crafting, running, or cooking. Oh, hi there, thing that needs to get done but can also be fulfilling!

Everything you’re doing right now that doesn’t bring you joy, doesn’t expand your horizons, or doesn’t fill you with energy is taking away from your family, it’s taking away from you, and it’s taking away from your growing business.

Take five minutes right now to write an Expansion/Contraction List. On the Expansion side, put those things that you LOVE to do, things that fill you with joy, things that make you feel like you could scale a mountain, things in your life that you want to do more often. Fill the Contraction side with things that you hate to do, that you leave you feeling drained every single time you do them. Go ahead, write it all down, get it all out!

Once you have your lists, the real work begins. Select THREE things on your Contraction list and commit yourself to do less of each activity. Now, select THREE items on your Expansion set and commit to doing more of each activity. This, I promise, will be easier said than done.

You define what “more” means to you. It will vary with each person but you must define it. If you don’t get specific about how much more time you’re going to spend smelling the roses rather than washing your windows, you probably won’t do it and you won’t be able to see a measurable result in your mood and outlook towards life. In order to make more time for those things that enliven you and make you say “woohoo!” you’ve got to quit doing other things, preferably things that don’t inspire you or things that you hate doing.

This concept didn’t originate with me. I’ve heard it time and time again from great leaders but it bears repeating: you are what you do repeatedly, day in and day out. As into 2018, do more of the things that energize you, that make you feel good and that lead you to your goals. For me, that means focusing on friends, family, community, and participating in Best Day Ever’s quarterly lifestyle challenges. If that’s something you’re interested in as well, we’d love to have you! Click here to find out more information. What are some other things on your Expansion list?

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Anne-Marie Faiola author headshot

Bramble Berry CEO

Along the way, she founded and built the Bramble Berry enterprise, which includes a large e-commerce business that sells handcraft provisions, ingredients, and supplies for soapmaking; a popular retail store…

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