GET FED UP.

By Laura Wallace  |  February 9, 2018

One of my favorite motivational coaches is Valorie Burton. I own just about every one of her books and watch her weekly motivational videos. This past week really caught my attention because she was talking about toleration. This went hand in hand with something else I was reading about getting fed up. So here we are, talking about it.

We tend to tolerate things for much longer than we should, anticipating that they’re either not that big of a deal or one day we’ll “get around to it.” We tolerate things like the pile of papers on our desk, the email inbox that has 100’s of unread junk messages, the pile of clothes on the floor, the sink that needs fixed, the tough conversation we need to have or the task on our list that we just really don’t want to do but know it needs done. It becomes easier to write them off and say we’ll “do them tomorrow” but inevitably what happens is, each tomorrow becomes tomorrow.

Before we know it, we have a handful or dozens of little things on our subconscious mind that annoy us. They may not seem like they take that much energy, but everything that you’re not dealing with is taking energy away from the things that matter. It’s challenging to start a new project when 10 old ones are sitting on your desk, unattended to. It’s hard to put all your energy into starting a new venture when you’re surrounded by clutter. And the one I struggle with, the challenge of getting a good night’s sleep when all of this shit is running through your head, day after day because you simply have learned to tolerate them.

This is my favorite part. We get fed up and flip a switch that goes from “I’ll get to it” to “It’s getting done. Now.” Let me see a show of hands in the social media thread for all those who have looked at or thought about something so long that you got pissed off and cleaned house. All of a sudden you have the time and energy to deal with those things and sometimes within minutes, they’re done. That paper stack didn’t take hours like you thought, it actually took twenty minutes. The overflowing inbox took fifteen minutes to search, find and clear. That phone call you’ve been dragging your feet on helped to clarify everything you’ve needed to know for weeks. It’s like a dedicated, determined powerhouse took over your body and decided to knock all those tiny tolerated tasks off your list.

And then your first thought is. Why didn’t I do this sooner?? The sigh of relief and the feeling of accomplishment is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. When you can look at all the things that have been bothering you for days, weeks, heck sometimes even years and know that it’s done. Over. Finished. Now that my friends, is a great day.

What are you tolerating right now? What is eating away at your energy, slowly, each and every day. What is one thing you could knock off your list to help you regain control? I promise, once you have at least one of them off your never-ending to-do list, you’ll be that much more energized to do the things that matter most.