Less: My Word for the Year - Why Is Doing Less So Hard?

“Less”.  That is the word that I write daily on my hand right under my thumb.  It’s a reminder of my word for the year. 

I have a tendency to want to learn everything and be a part of everything.  If I could learn Spanish, take piano lessons, and work on my PhD right now, I would jump at the chance.  I love to learn and do new things.  That is great, right?  But what happens when I take on too much at the same time?  I do some of the stuff I need periodically and then the new thing falls off because the other stuff I am committed to - work, family, friends, dog walking, exercising - is still a big part of my life.  I love taking new things on, but I have difficulty weeding out other things. 

For instance, I have been on a Peleton streak since December 26th.  If I don’t do a ride or run, I do a five minute stretch so that it shows up on the app.  Totally cheap, but I feel good about it. Well, on Friday I broke my streak.  My first reaction was - crap!  I have been working on that for over two months.  I took a breath.  Oh well.  As I was writing today I realized that I also broke my streak on Monday.  Uh-oh - what is going on?

Well, writing every day for this challenge takes more time than I realized.  I am enjoying the challenge, but it does take time and effort.   Apparently, losing focus on my Peleton streak is a consequence of having a little less free time.   So, for March, my focus is on writing and posting every day.  If I can do that and stretch, run, or bike with Peleton, that is a bonus.   If not, no big deal.  Less recrimination.  Less stress.  Less judgment.  Trying to live up to my one little word.

Lesson learned: Showing yourself grace is hard, but important.  Keep working on the things that are important to you, but understand that you can’t keep a perfect streak of everything every day.