More is Not Better

Despite what society teaches us, more is not best. We live in a world obsessed with more - do more, have more, earn more, accomplish more. More money, more success, more growth. As a result, so many of us drive ourselves to increase our scope, our activities and responsibilities, and to fill our plates to the brim.

But does this lead to more success and happiness over time?

No! We end up stressed, and overwhelmed, as we are trying to fit more into our already full life. When we try to do everything, we end up spreading our effort into a million directions, never fully focusing on, or doing any one thing well.

Too many indiscriminate "yeses" equals more distractions. Our energy and attention is diluted. We become busy but rarely productive. We start to ignore our own needs in order to keep everyone else happy. Our focus is external.

Ultimately, you have less to give to the things that really matter to you the most.

Prioritizing Through Awareness

To live an aligned and fulfilling life, the ability to prioritize and manage energy and effort is paramount. This is about learning how to focus attention on your most important endeavors in sustainable way. By becoming aware of how you are managing your attention, energy, and emotions, you can ensure that you are not compromising your own wellbeing.

Evaluating Effort

Taking the time to evaluate effort on a continual basis is a critical piece of living an aligned life. It allows you to regain control of your time and priorities and prevents you from being pulled in too many directions and away from the things that matter most.

Instead of asking "How can I do it all", evaluate effort by stepping back and thoughtfully assessing what each potential endeavor will require from you. When considering whether to say yes to something, or to say no, consider the following important questions:

Does this align with my purpose, my "why", and my values?
What do I want to do the most? (When we say yes to something, we say no to something else!)
What level of energy - emotional and physical - will this require from me?
How will this impact me emotionally?

When we fail to evaluate our effort on an ongoing basis, it is easy to lose sight of what is and isn't important. Everything can start to feel equally important. We have the sense that we are living on a hamster wheel, trying to keep afloat in a river of obligation and stress. We lose perspective and it can become more difficult to make decisions.

The remainder of this week's content will help you to decide how to purposefully and deliberately focus your time and energy. This the crux of living an aligned life and one that will enable you show up for yourself and your life in a more proactive and sustainable way.

In the next module, we will explore the first critical step of this process: Selecting our Guiding Principles.