As the New Year begins and we craft our strategies for making 2018 a fantastic year, I wanted to share this “Tip” with you. Years ago, I checked out a book called “Coach Yourself to Success” by Talane Miedaner from the  Darien Library. I don’t recall whether or not I finished the book, but Talane’s very first “Tip” has stayed with me ever since I read it. Here is the text from the book

TIP 1: Eliminate All Those Petty Annoyances

“If you are serious about being successful, start by eliminating everything you are putting up with, the things you are tolerating or enduring – those petty annoyances. You might be tolerating any number of small things, such as the overflowing in-box, the unpaid taxes you have to figure out, or even the tear in your bathrobe that nags at you every time you open your shower door and see it hanging there. Every time you see it, you think, ‘I’ve got to sew that.’… Everything you are tolerating drains your energy, makes you irritable and wears you down.”

This concept of tolerating things really resonated with me, so, as she suggested, I made a list of things I was tolerating. Wow, there were a lot! They ranged dramatically in stature from a disorganized closet to resentments in my personal relationships. When I got to work and started to eliminate them, I began to feel clearer and more energetic. Talane was really on to something here.

What is important to note about the Tolerations (new word?) is that they exist underneath the To Do’s. We tend to characterize them as less essential to our well being and therefore less of a priority. So we sweep them under the rug and forget about them. But as more and more of them keep collecting, they begin to weigh us down. One solution I came up with is to keep “Manage Tolerations” as an item on my To Do list so I can remember to keep working the Toleration list as well.

Good Luck fellow toleration eradicators! I promise you will love the results of your efforts.