Take One Thing Off… Your Plate
Were you raised in an environment or do you belong to a culture where it is considered impolite or wasteful not to eat everything on your plate?
I would like to use the plate example as a metaphor for our busy daily lives. Many of us have “plates” that can be way too full for us to comfortably digest everything that is placed on them. Individually, the items on our plates may seem relatively manageable and even “tasty.” However, when our “eyes are bigger than our stomachs,” our proverbial plates can quickly overfill with activities, responsibilities and “shoulds” leaving us feeling uncomfortable, stressed, anxious, depressed, maybe even bloated!
As I often do, I would like to flip this idea upside down and #reframe it. Maybe you saw this coming. I bet you did.
Today’s message is about NOT eating all of the food on your plate, metaphorically speaking. Today, and any day you feel overwhelmed by what is on your “plate,” I encourage you to give yourself permission to take one thing off (and maybe more if you can swing it). Taking one or more things off your plate leaves “room” for those unexpected things or last minute surprises. Removing things from your plate creates time and space for “dessert,” which is the fun, enjoyable stuff of life. Yes, please.
Here are some suggested how-to ideas (in no particular order):
Prioritize your Top 3 Goals or objectives for the day.
Start with the least tastiest first. (Eat the Frog).
Tackle one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is not as efficient or effective as you might think.
Finally and most important: Leave room for dessert. The Okinawans have a saying “hara hachi bu” which means eating until you are 80% full. The same concept can be applied to our lives. Leave time, energy and space to have fun and play!
This week’s reflection and challenge should you choose to accept: Take one thing off your plate every day, and leave room for dessert.
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