Let It Go, Girl

mom daughter bed time

Just a few weeks ago, I found myself sitting in bed trying to work between running to the bathroom with a little one who had the stomach flu (who had decided to pass it along to her mommy), and the things that were less than important on my to-do list seemed glaringly obvious. I had a packed day with deadlines out the wazoo, and I was working at about 40% capacity. Certain tasks that are annoying on a normal day were “OMG WHY IS THIS MY LIFE” on that day. I could barely keep up, and eventually I had to completely shut things down, leaving some menial tasks undone.

Being sick, even with something as small as the stomach flu, really helped to put things into perspective.

I talk to a lot of women every day. Business women, entrepreneurs, single women, and moms. It doesn’t matter where the women are from or how different they are from each other, there’s one thing that the majority of us have in common: We are trying to do too much.

We have 15 ideas and they all have to be executed NOW.
We have 20 projects and they all need to launch TODAY.
We cook, clean, take care of kids, talk on the phone to our girlfriends, volunteer, work full-time, work part-time, work all the time.

Even when we’re sick, we don’t stop. It’s like we’re afraid that if we sit down, everything will fall apart.

We’re doing too much.

Many of us are even at the point that we’re doing things that don’t add anything to our personal or professional lives but we feel like we’re supposed to be doing it, or we’ve always done it. It’s time to let it go, y’all.

Every idea is not a business idea. Focus.
Every task does not have to be completed by you. Delegate.
Every thing that needs to get done doesn’t have to be done right now. Wait.

Being sick that day opened my eyes up a lot about what is important to me in life, in my career, and in my business.

I realized that there were things that I needed to get rid of, and I did. I discovered that I needed to take better care of myself, and be more protective of my precious time and energy. Little changes, like not tuning in to as many of my reality television shows and going to sleep at a decent hour instead are helping to make a difference in my life. Journaling to Ayva every night is helping me to relax and stay connected to her. Setting daily goals, making lists of things that I need to do each day, and defining a real “quitting time” is making me a better person. It’s also reminding me that everything isn’t on the same level of importance, and my life won’t implode if a task from today makes it onto tomorrow’s list.

Letting go of the need to feel important by being everywhere and doing everything wasn’t easy. It had become so much of a habit, that doing something different was a real job. I’m glad I decided to tackle it, though. I’m so happy that I learned to let go.

What about you? Is there anything you need to let go of? Things that are holding you back from spending time with family or friends, or taking care of yourself? You’re not alone, girlfriend. What do you need to be able to let it go?

One response to “Let It Go, Girl”

  1. Sharon Avatar

    What a great reminder to let it go!

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