Years ago, I heard something that really made an impression on me. It was, "the quality of your life is largely determined by what you take out of it, rather than what you put into it." There's a great deal of truth in these words, and I'd wager that it's the single best method to a great life.
As an American, we're brought up to continually add things to our lives - a big house, a nice car, stylish clothes, etc. - to make it better. Unfortunately, many of us have added far too much and it gets to the point where you have to start taking out the trash.
The kind of trash you've accumulated can come in a myriad of forms and it's not always so easy to pick out of the crowd. Sometimes it's as simple as cutting an expense here or there, but other times, it's a toxic relationship or even a contentious work environment. Regardless of what the 'trash' is in your life, taking it out will make you better off.
This weekend, take some time to make a list of the things that are keeping you from living a better life. Dig deep with this list and consider not only the things you can readily see, but also the root causes of the issue. For example, if you're staring at a checking account that's on life support, look at all of your expenses and figure out what is helping and what is hurting you.
After you've gathered up all of the trash on your list, start taking it out. You needn't go nuts and take it all out at one time (you can only lift so much), but start laying plans to eliminate one or two items each week or month. In just a few months, you should be on your way to living a great life.
My 'trash' happens to be my love of bath gels and scented body splashes. I seem to always buy them when I see new ones in the store even though I already have a few at home.
I will work on that in the new year because it is really ridiculous to have 6 bottles of half used bath gel all lined up in the bathroom.
Posted by: Lulu | December 17, 2009 at 11:28 AM