Hands up if you feel like you’ve got more on your great big Life To-Do List than you could possibly ever accomplish.

Do you feel like you’re always falling behind, letting yourself down? Do you set great big juicy life goals . . . and completely fall short?

Do you keep peeking over your shoulder at what others are doing and think  – “Oh shit, I should be doing that, too!”??

Lady – Stay in Your Own Lane!

Obvi, I’m right there with you. Big goals, big dreams and high expectations of myself and my life.

But hold up, let’s pause a moment.

I AM doing lots of shit on my Great Big Awesome List of Life Goals, and I’ll bet you are, too.

Trouble is, someone keeps moving the dang finish line. And adding shit to that list. I swear – when I get my hands on her … but wait. That girl is… ME.

Why do we do that to ourselves?

You’re gonna say – Woman, I gotta push myself. That’s how we grow. You gotta strive, you gotta get outside your comfort zone. Ok. Sure, sometimes. But do we need to LIVE there???

I’ve caught myself recently allowing comparison to set my course. You know how it goes. Keeping up with the Joneses style. Can a get an UGH? It feels gross.

Guess what. Other people’s accomplishments don’t have to be your goals. Nor do they minimize your accomplishments. That road leads to burnout and heartache.

Maybe all this constant goal-setting and stretching our comfort zone is just another symptom of our addiction to MORE.

I think I’ve got that tiger licked ’cause I’ve decluttered my closet and curbed my shopping. But have I really?

We gotta ask ourselves, Is adding these things to my goals about living a life aligned with my values, my why or anything I actually want for my life big-picture?

Is the expectation that I need to do more, be more, accomplish more – just more of the same bullshit? Is it any different than filling my home full of crap I don’t need, can’t afford, or even really want?

Am I kidding myself? Allowing myself to be distracted by the next bright and shiny thing instead of tucking in and doing the work to be happy with what I have? (Or you know, just doing the hard work that’s actually in front of me?)

Is our big bag of goals a distraction from the thing that would really light us up?

Is deciding to do your Masters actually just a way of avoiding launching your own business? Has planning your dream become a substitute for doing the thing? You know, actually LIVING your life?

There’s nothing wrong with big goals and dreams. IF they bring value to your life and help you to serve your higher purpose, whatever that looks like.

Just like we’ve faced facts and realized we can’t have it all, we also need to realize that we can’t DO it all, even if it’s all good stuff.

If we allow ourselves to be pulled in too many directions, even if each of those directions is valuable and worthy of our time, effort and attention … we’ll get nowhere.

My Dad always tells me “Pick one, look at the rest” (Usually when he’s annoyed and tired of waiting for me to make up my mind about something trivial. ) BUT it’s also been his advice during major turning points in my life. It’s dad-speak for – Just get on with it, already.

As annoying as that was to my teenaged self, I know now that there is power in deciding and moving on.

Rather than trying to hustle for the unattainable goal of “having it all”, wouldn’t we be better served by finding our core WHY and throwing ourselves wholeheartedly at that one worthy cause?

You’ve cleared your house of clutter that doesn’t serve you. Time to declutter your goals, too.

Once I started to view my goals like my closet, everything changed. All I had to do was apply the same thinking:

Do I love it? Does it make me feel fantastic? Does it serve me? Could I make do without? If I keep it, what will I have to eliminate to make room?

We don’t have to do it all. Just because we could do something, doesn’t mean we should.

Think about all the pretty good, but not HECK YES! goals or “should-dos” that are cluttering up your plate.

What would your life looked like if you pitched ’em? What dreams might you be able to crush if you took Dad’s advice and finally decided to just pick one, dammit and looked at the rest?

Liberating, right?

Bonus? Deciding, intentionally and mindfully to set something aside lets the air out of Perfectionism’s tires. Your inner critic can’t chirp that you’ve failed at something that you’ve made a choice to say NO to. Pretty tricky, hey?

What goals or expectations could you set down right now that would give you time, space and energy for goals that actually light a fire in your belly?

Share yours in the comments below. 👇🏽