(I wish I had learned this much earlier in my life.)
Our dreams paint pictures of the future that are large and wide. We share our ambitions with others in stories that captivate and make others envy. Much is asked or expected of us as well.
So like good soldiers, we set out to finish multiple projects at the same time. It’s only natural, we want so many different things. Others want so many things from us. Never realizing how much time, work, attention, follow up and effort any one project will need. Especially when we are young
Pleasing both ourselves and others is more of a challenge than we realize.
Trying to accomplish MANY projects at the same time is what gets us into trouble. We all feel we can do everything. More deceivingly, we feel an obligation to do all of these things at once. Never once asking ourselves why.
Multiple projects compete with each other for resources, time, or direction. It’s only when we are much older that we begin to consider these constraints before choosing what to work on next. Without thought, trying to accomplish all of them becomes impossible. We don’t realize this while continuing to push forward. Ending up frustrated and discouraged because our efforts did not pan out.
Leaving loose ends. unfinished projects, and frustration that leads to abandonment and a sense of not trying anything again. Mistakenly we think it’s our ability when in reality it’s our inability to limit our choices together with our weakness to not say no more often. Both to ourselves and to others.
It’s hard to fight with yourself towards an operating style that believes that less is more. It goes directly against our dreams, our ego, and our sense of responsibility to others. Even in group meetings, the same thing happens. Everyone wants something or wants to do something different. Do you know what happens in the end? Nothing gets done.
We must seek clarity more often to first understand our why for each project we consider. Once we better understand why we need to then use clarity to better see the tradeoffs we must make every time we say yes to getting something done. And then choose wisely by narrowing your projects to a few for greater success and accomplishment. Surprisingly, in a quicker amount of time than before when we said yes to everything.
It’s worth repeating even though it seems counterintuitive. Narrow your focus to accomplish more. Think in terms of stacking accomplishments. Building walls of strength rather than defending what now looks to be empty promises because you were never able to say no.