For the past few weeks, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed. I have a million different ideas running through my head at any given minute, and I want to do them all. Right now.
And while I’m super pumped that ideas are flowing freely (and admittedly, they’re not all terrible), it still puts me in a position I don’t want to be in.
I’m feeling spread too thin, unfocused, constantly shifting from one task to the next, and never feeling like I’m accomplishing anything.
9 words that set me free
It turns out, all it took to realize this mental loophole I’d been stuck in was a Saturday morning walk with my husband and 9 easily spoken words that seemed to fall straight from above.
“You don’t need to do it all right now.”
That landed. Hard.
Instantly it became so apparent that I’ve been trying to be the future Brooke. I’m expecting things of myself that are years down the line. And while I love some good long-term planning, the reality is I’m not there yet. And the only way for me to get there is by being the best me I can be right now.
Do you ever get so focused on the next hurdle, the next certification, the next promotion, the next client that you somehow forget to just be where you are?
I have been so fixated on the next steps of growing my business that I forgot to take a look around, breathe deeply, and learn all there is to learn here.
And there’s a heck of a lot to learn here.
So that, I’ve decided, is what I’ll be doing in the coming months. Being here. Focusing. Narrowing my scope of work. Doing less.
But how?
Doing less is a tricky thing. And figuring out what needs to be cut from the mental Rolodex is even more challenging. For me, it required some difficult questions and extensive journaling. I had to ask myself:
- What have I been focusing on that’s not getting traction?
- What should I be focusing on?
- What’s directly affecting my bottom line right now?
- What can I eliminate?
- What can I shift into the future plans bucket?
And after about an hour, I had my answers.
I’m going to dive into becoming the absolute best writer that I can be. I want to be the most engaging, the most informative, and give my readers everything they need when they finish reading an article, whether for this blog or for a client.
I plan to be the best personal trainer I can be. I’ll serve my existing clients to the best of my ability and focus my energy on getting 1-2 more. I want to take time to learn more about creating killer training plans, how the body moves, and the most effective ways to connect with my clients.
What are you already doing that you can take a step back and be the best at? Can you ease up on the next promotion and simply get better at your job today?
I realized that I don’t need to have multiple blogs right now. I don’t need to start a health coaching practice from scratch right now. I don’t need to start a podcast, write a book, or become a social media guru right now.
I don’t need to do it all right now.
And honestly, once I realized this, it was like a wave of relief crashed into my shore.
Sometimes progress looks like pressing pause.
By taking the time to be where I am, I’ll be better prepared for my next step. And what I may uncover in the process is that my next step isn’t what I thought it should be.
Here is where I learn what I like and don’t like. This is how I grow. By being right here. By doing less to enable me to ultimately do more.
If you’ve been stuck, feeling overwhelmed, or simply don’t know where to start, consider for a second the impact of doing less. What would your life look like if you took time to focus on the 1-3 key areas that could use your attention? What would change if you let your fuzzy future plans rest for a minute while you take the time to get to know now?
Personally, I can only see the benefits of doing less, of spending a season or two growing where I am and becoming better at the things I should be doing. I hope you find the same.
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