What’s your excuse for being forgetful? (C’mon! We ALL have those moments!)
Here’s mine —
“OMG, my poor brain. There is so much knowledge and wisdom crammed in there, that I can no longer keep everything in it. In order to make room for a new piece of knowledge, I have to let go of something old. I guess that was the latest piece I let go of. Remind me again what I lost.”
Feel free to borrow that line (okay excuse) whenever you like!
Throughout most of my life, I have tried very hard to throw something old out when I brought something new into my life. New clothing? Find an equal quantity to toss. New fruits and veggies? Toss out all the bad ones first. New couch? Find a new home for the old one. New car? Away with the old. And so it went.
I haven’t always been successful either.
When we moved from the big city to the country six years ago, I made some very conscious decisions about letting go. Truthfully, I didn’t let go of nearly as much as I could have. It’s only in the last year, that I have been getting rid of stuff I should never have brought with me in the first place.
You might wonder what exactly I am doing, right? I am making room for the new stuff coming into my life. And I want to suggest you think about doing it too.
You see our lives are relatively safe and secure, and for the most part, so are our wants, needs and intentions. We all like to buy, spruce up, garnish and beautify the many parts of our material world. We buy cars and clothing, hobbies and fun things, food and necessities.
The worst part of this is we can end up cluttering our homes, office, cars and the little piece of the world we inhabit.
Our material world, to a large extent, is a reflection of our interior selves. And the worst part is we run the risk of becoming ungrounded and stale, complacent and apathetic, uninterested and uninteresting.
We all love to hold on to what is familiar. But the new parts need space so growth can occur. We must learn to recognize the times when an ending of something (that seems so natural) is no longer serving us. Because endings lead to beginnings and death is a part of life.
And that is where my gain one, toss one philosophy can come to the rescue.
In business and in life, we are offered experiences that are challenging and experiences that are nourishing. Over time those experiences achieve a balance. And over time, WE achieve balance. We reap what we sow. Because for every cause, there is an effect.
Instead of giving the usual excuse, here’s the next best thing. Consider letting go, to let more — of the wonderous things on their way — in.
