Do Less to DO MORE! #DoMore

My favorite phrase that I've picked up from Chalene Johnson has to be "Do More". I've bought her hat and am going to set a special goal soon and my reward for achieving this goal will be the DoMore twittabling necklace. Why do I love this phrase so much? Because it pushes me to not settle. I don't just do what needs to be done - I do more! Recently though I realized that there's a difference between doing more and doing things that don't add value to my life - that I need to combine "Do More" with "no" in my vocabulary. When you do too much and worry about doing things for other people that don't add to your goals, you take away from valuable time that you deserve. I'm not saying that you have to always be selfish and self centered but sometimes you need to do that - for your own sake and for the sake of those around you.

How many times have you been flipping through the SkyMall catalogue, listening to a flight attendant instructing you to make sure you secure your own air mask before you tend to those next to you? How is it that we can so easily accept that direction but it's so much harder to accept that you have to put your priorities and health (physical AND mental) ahead of always saying "yes". Think about it: just like passing out while you were trying to help the person next to you with your air mask is less than helpful, so is you losing a level of sanity and feeling miserable as you bend over backwards to accomidate to your friend's, significant other's, or even child's desires. You need to be at your best to really be able to support and love those in your life the way you both deserve.

Now I know that there might be some who struggle with the idea of putting themselves ahead of their children - especially since this blog is being written by a childless, spouseless 25 year old. Trust me - I know that having children is a sacrifice. Parents give up some of their desires, wants, and whims to afford the time and money to help their children's dreams come true. However, I don't believe a parent should feel like they have to give up their passions. In fact, when my parents demonstrated that they were continuing to do things they loved - whether it be their jobs, hobbies, sports, etc. - it made me feel empowered. My Mom went back to work, got involved in a professional organization in her field (and was voted to a high office in the organization), picked up tennis again in addition to being there for my brother, sister, and me...I don't think I could have felt happier for her or more empowered myself. Here was my mom showing me that I could have a life of my own and still be there for family - something I value to this day! Think of the message you're sending to your children if you GIVE UP your passion for them. You might say that they see how important they are to you. I'd argue that instead they'd see "Huh...so family is a burden? I have to give up what I LOVE to be there for people?".

How would you feel if you had to give up what you loved to do for a boyfriend or girlfriend? If you're married, think back to the bad relationships...the ones where your boyfriend or girlfriend at the time said "You passion takes too much time away from ME so I want you to quit". How did that make you feel? More often than not, you probably would have felt like that person didn't really know you - or worse, didn't care - to suggest that you quit the thing that makes you so happy because they needed that time instead. If you didn't think that right away, I don't doubt that you were advised by close friends that you shouldn't be in that relationship anymore. I'm not saying that if you're married and your spouse asks that of you that you should walk out the door but I also don't believe that you should drop your passion - talk it out. No one can read your mind so express how you feel. Talk it out. The same goes for all relationships I think. We enjoy being around people because of who they are when we met them. No matter who they are in your life, if you change FOR them, you are no longer the person they chose to be around so it is going to change the relationship.

So how does this doing less and making sure that you stay true to yourself and your passions help you DO MORE? You'll be less stressed if you're doing what makes you happy and cut out some of that clutter. You'll be able to DO MORE of the things you love and DO MORE for the ones in your life who mean the most to you. By cutting out some activities I was doing purely to make others happy, I was able to READ MORE, LEARN MORE, and DO MORE in my workouts, business, job, and not to mention for my family which has been especially important lately. Everyone always talks about priorities but everyone forgets the part where you have to APPLY those priorities to your life. What are the things that don't matter as much? How can you use do less so that you can DO MORE?

In wellness of mind, body and soul,
Gabriella

Sweat.Eat.Repeat.