Power Tripping (probably not what you'd think)

I was working with a customer when the thought crossed my mind "this stuff has been given power... that's why I had to be hired to come and help."

Somewhere along the way, we give power to memories, inanimate objects, possessions, methods and our way of doing things. Your ability to acknowledge the amount of power you've given to things around you will give you greater power in keeping your life in balance.

Let's say you have a particular way you like to fold towels. To fold the towels your favorite way, it takes 30 seconds longer than if you changed your method to a simpler method. Either way, you end up with a folded towel. The towel still hangs on a towel bar just fine, and still dries the wet person who just stepped out of the shower. It even launders the same. But there is something in you that just prefers one way over the other.

Now take towel person and put her in a household of 3 young children, an aging parent and a hectic schedule. I wonder if she is still committed to her towel folding method that takes 30 seconds longer per towel?

When you find yourself running out of time, space, money... when frustration starts showing up, pay attention. It may be that you have given power to something that can be easily adjusted for a period of time. The adjustment may provide a substantial difference in your peace of mind and effectiveness while demands on your attention and time are high. The decision to "give up power" and use an simpler method of folding towels could buy our friend 10 extra minutes in a day. What if she also gave up her need to do "be in charge" of all grocery shopping? Maybe her husband could actually share some of that load. He'd probably do it differently--could she deal with that?

Consider the costs of having your favorite way of doing things--it can be costly to you when you're unwilling to let it go. Give careful consideration to where you're assigning "power" to things and ways of doing things. The "power" you give may be "tripping" you up. And you may find that making room for slight changes will add up to big benefits!

(c) 2009 Sheri Smith Bertolini