What needs to go and why?

There's an unhelpful irony in how we respond to life's pressures: the moment we feel stretched beyond our limits, we react and cut away the very things that support us most deeply. When our calendars overflow and our to-do lists grow beyond what we can handle, we're quick to believe we don’t have time for what matters most. And this is not just the things that we do to take care of ourselves. We stop doing the things that contribute most to others. We tell ourselves we're being practical, making space for what's urgent, but what we're really doing is starving ourselves and others of value. We eliminate the things that make life human and fulfilling.

This reaction can be a profound signal: we have the choice to get creative about what we're willing to release instead. What if, when overwhelm strikes, we asked ourselves not "What do I need to sacrifice?” but "What do I think I have to do that I don’t actually have to do that I can let go of to make space for what is powerful?" Perhaps we could allow something to be imperfect, ask for help, hire someone, change our minds about a commitment we’ve made, or even realize that something we have been treating as our problem is, in fact, not our problem.

Wisdom loves to help us get creative in how we keep the most essential sources of our contribution at the forefront of our lives. In making this creativity a constant practice—a gentle, ongoing audit of our energy and attention, we discover that fulfillment isn't about doing more or having more, but doing only what serves what truly matters to us and letting go of assumed have-to’s.

Where is it time to get creative about how to let go of something so you can have more of what serves all of us?