“Enlightened” quitting

I opened an eDM from Danielle La Porte and her team this week, and it came at just the right time. I was starting to feel pulled in a million different directions, and falling back into the “doing too much” trap.

Danielle proceeded to glean wisdom from a friend, asking what we should QUIT doing to make space for what we WANT to be doing. She writes:

I asked Seth Godin what he’d put on his “Stop Doing List”. As ever, he was profound and … clear:

1. Keeping score in games I don’t need to win.
2. Keeping score in games I can’t win.
3. Wasting time on people I can’t please.
4. Ignoring the side effects of my personal choices.
5. Giving into the resistance without realizing, I was.
6. Reading my Amazon reviews.
7. Letting other people decide if I was doing a good job.
8. Trying so hard when it came to persuading other people to change their minds.
9. Making lists like this one. Except now.
10. Cleaning industrial dough mixers.
11. Walking into glass doors.
12. Biking without a helmet.
13. Cutting large blocks of Styrofoam while barefoot.
14. Working for jerks.

So I’ve started my own Stop Doing List. Here’s where I’m up to:

• Comparing myself to other people.
• Using coffee as a way to mask my natural rhythms. If I’m tired – I want to feel tired because it’s a sign I need to rest. Time to honour the body’s intelligence and say ‘yes’ to it.
• Saying yes to every shiny opportunity that comes up. Instead take a breath and ask, “Is this in line with my values?” If no – kindly refuse. If yes, GREEN LIGHT.
• Gossip. We should all have zero tolerance for this. It’s nasty, a waste of time and energy zapping.

What’s on your list?