By: Trina Johnson
Many of us are busy, busy, busy most days. So busy, in fact, that there are things in all of our lives that we are just tolerating. Tolerating is the act of accepting something you dislike or disagree with to continue without interference. Ouch. But you know it’s true. There are things that have crept into your life that you allow to continue to exist. You are probably tolerating things like that dirty car, or the leaking faucet, or the bumper-to-bumper traffic you sit through every evening to get home. Stop for a moment and think about it: What are you tolerating in your life?
Whether you realize it or not, every toleration you allow to linger in your life drains your energy, your attention, and your motivation. It prevents you from fully realizing your life’s potential. When I asked myself the question,“What are you tolerating?” I came up with some doozies. Some were obvious, some not so much. For instance, my list included: shirts I can’t wear because of missing buttons; clothes hanging in my closet that don’t fit or flatter me; not having enough money to do all the things I want to do; 6 unfinished book manuscripts; chipped fingernail polish (for weeks!); untrimmed hedges; only one unchipped drinking glass in the house; unframed photos in a pile on the floor. The list could go on and on.
And that’s just the beginning. There are deeper, more consequential things I have allowed to happen and have neglected to fix. For instance, I haven’t made an effort to keep in touch with good friends or even some family members. I am tolerating a certain friend who is always late and then spends more time looking at her cellphone during dinner than talking to me. I allow clients to not pay their bills on time but still coach and support them. I am not getting the energy boost and revitalization I need when I tolerate these kinds of behaviors to go on in my life.
So what can you do about it? Make a list of all the things that are cluttering up your life and then Boom! get rid of them. Some will be harder than others, it’s true. But commit to doing the hard work. Go through the list and take action. Get out the needle and thread, bag up the clothes to donate to Goodwill, set aside the time to declutter. Focus on the projects at hand and complete them. Once I made my list, I have set to work at eliminating those tolerations. And boy, let me tell you – it DOES make a difference in how you feel. The benefits of getting rid of what you are tolerating in your life will be more energy, more creativity, and you’ll be able to attract more abundance and prosperity into your life. Your quality of life will almost magically improve the moment you take action to get rid of those small, inconsequential things that are actually blocking your success.