Category Archives: Distractions

Don’t Let Yesterday

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“Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”

-Will Rogers, 19th/20th Century American Cowboy, Vaudevillian, and Humorist

Image from denvertent.com

Image from denvertent.com

Imagine you are planning to take a hike, climb a hill, or even scale a mountain. Your goal is to go as far as you can and see all the beauty along the way. Unfortunately, you have chosen to carry a very heavy backpack filled with too many weighty issues from your past.

EXERCISE:

What can you do to lighten your load and carry fewer yesterdays, in order to make the best out of each and every day ahead?

“I’m too busy working on my own…”

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“I’m too busy working on my own grass to notice if yours is greener.”

—Author Unknown

Photo from Flickr by Jeremy Page

Photo from Flickr by Jeremy Page

Spring is here, and the people I speak with can’t wait for warmer weather, longer hours of daylight, and the beauty Mother Nature provides.

When my neighbors begin to emerge from their homes, I see them out walking or participating in some other physical activity, or, relative to today’s quote, jumping into lawn care and maintenance.

I’ve heard some of them compare their lawns to others—sometimes favorably, others not. This characteristic of comparison can be a source of upsets, dissatisfaction, and frustration.

EXERCISE:

Where in your personal or professional life are you paying too much attention to other people’s grass? How would tending to the fertilization and care of your own abilities, projects, and priorities reward you with the results and satisfaction you desire?

“One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things.”

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“One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things.”

-John Burroughs, American naturalist and nature essayist

Photo from Flickr by Barbara Olson

Photo from Flickr by Barbara Olson

In the early years of coaching there was a man named Thomas J. Leonard, whom many consider a primary catalyst for the profession we know today.

Among his prolific writings, as he developed the curriculum for Coach University, was a simple exercise to improve one’s life by reducing or eliminating the small things that often drain our energy and satisfaction. He called these little things that sap our lives, “tolerations.”

EXERCISE

Generate a list of little and not so little things in your world that diminish your life in even the smallest ways.

How can you reduce, eliminate, or, as John Burroughs suggests, rise above these things, to live a more fulfilling life?

Select at least one “toleration” and take some action today, and consider making this exercise an everyday practice to improve your life.

“Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.”

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“Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save. They just stand there, shining.”

– Anne Lamott, novelist and non-fiction writer

Image of a lighthouse battered by huge waves

St. Joseph, Michigan North Pier Lighthouse

As a coach, my business is a bit unusual in that I now hold most of my coaching sessions via video conference. Instead of running all over town to meet with each client, I created a secure harbor in a calm and confidential location, removed from the often hectic rushing around that comprises many people’s days.

Exercise:

Where are you currently running all over your personal and professional “island” looking for boats to save?

How could you let your own shining light act as a beacon to bring greater sanity, security and success into your world?