“Take a deep breath, get present in the moment and ask yourself what is important this very moment.”
–George McKeown
When I was younger, I watched my dad gently break the smaller, lower branches off of the tomato plants in our garden. “Why are you doing that, Dad,” I asked.
“These are suckers. These little branches never produce tomatoes. Suckers just drain energy out of the plants, so we don’t grow the biggest tomatoes that we could.” Dad answered.
That made total sense. While discussing strategies to achieve our desired lives in a Mastermind. John Maxwell’s process to dream achieving strategies is based on the acronym SECURE. One of those letters that stood out to the participants was R–Removing the non-essentials from your life
As we discussed that, we came to the conclusion that non-essentials are suckers. These are things that derail us from the destination of our choice. One of the participants agreed he could be so busy these days, but he could be busy with the things and events that drag him away from what he really wants. He believes that this is the cause of the “settle for” life. We become so drained from the distractions that we have no energy left for our desires. We begin to doubt if our dream matters.
Another person got a bit emotional when she said some of the non-essentials that she was giving up were toxic relationships. This was difficult because she really cared for these people, but their behaviors were draining her emotionally.
There has been many a time when I have given up a fun gathering because I had a workshop to write. I have given up a morning workout because of an early morning coaching client. (I know that sounds crazy, but I love working out.)
Removing non-essentials from our lives can be tough, but it is worth the fight. John Maxwell puts it like this, “Most people who fail to reach their dream aren’t stopped because some insurmountable barrier confronted them. No, they often become worn out trying to carry too many things on their journey.”
Dad was right. If you want to grow big tomatoes, you have to remove the suckers. You and I have to remove the suckers from our lives if we want to achieve great success.
What could be some suckers in your life that are preventing you from realizing your desired life or dream? Are their non-essentials that are impacting your leadership? I certainly will be pondering these questions in the next week.
Cutting the non-essentials,
Jan
Jan McDonald
John Maxwell Team
jan@jan-mcdonald.com
www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/janmcdonald
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