A couple of years ago, I was laying in my bed with a pillow propped under my knee, a left arm so sore I could barely lift it over my head, and dreading the next involuntary spasm affectionally called a “Charlie Horse” in my right foot…and one thought kept running through my mind on repeat:
Toya, you’re doin’ too much.
It wasn’t the first time I had that thought, but it was a moment when it hit me particularly hard. I had been doing too much, and it caught up to me.
It knocked me flat out.
How did I get there? Let me offer a bit of context.
I’m the kind of person who commits to things.
If I decide to fast for 10 days, I fast for 10 days.
If I choose to learn a new skill, I read the books and take the courses until I can do it.
And if I decide that I’m going to work out every day for 30 days (the reason for that situation), I make it happen.
My ability to commit has paid off in big ways in my life. But just like with anything else, you can have too much of a good thing.
Sometimes circumstances change. Sometimes I change, and with those changes, my absolute commitment to an idea doesn’t always work.
In those instances where I keep going despite signs that my commitments are no longer serving me, I lose.
“Less is not laziness. Doing less meaningless work, so that you can focus on things of greater personal importance, is NOT laziness. This is hard for most to accept, because our culture tends to reward personal sacrifice instead of personal productivity.” – Tim Ferriss
When it comes to living the life you want, are you doing too much of something that’s no longer serving you?
We all get so focused on time management, side hustles, the latest and greatest life hacks, or whatever, that we keep going even when all the signs are telling us we are going in the wrong direction.
At a certain point, we need to stop fighting against the current. Instead, we should try to let go and discover where the water might take us.
We’ve all been through a lot in the past two years. No matter where you are in your life, career, or business, I’m willing to bet you’ve been doing a lot. Likely too much.
If so, maybe it’s time to do less. To stop swimming upstream, and let the momentum you’ve already created carry you forward.
This reminds me of an excerpt from the poem “She Let Go” by Safire Rose:
She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of fear. She let go of the judgments…
She didn’t ask anyone for advice. She didn’t read a
book on how to let go. She didn’t search the scriptures…
She didn’t promise to let go. She didn’t journal about it…
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.
Maybe now is the time for you to let go, and open yourself up to the many possibilities that life has in store for you.
