I’m in a leadership program—which is fantastic, by the way—and one of our recent assignments was to make a list of the things in our lives that we are tolerating. The idea is to think about things that we are putting up with, ignoring or trying to change; put them down on paper so they are evident; and then do something about it. This is a great exercise that I highly recommend.

Finally got Physical Therapy on my ankle

At first I didn’t think there was anything annoying me on a day-to-day basis, but once I got rolling I couldn’t stop writing. My list included the automatic car doors on my minivan not working, my scratched eye-glasses, a sprained ankle that just would not get better, a vendor that was making my life more stressful than it needed to be, too much laundry, a mudroom that was always messy and so on. We were asked to think of all the various tolerations regarding our health, our environment, past or present relationships as well as money or finances, so there was plenty of ground to cover.

The next step was to take some action. I have been working on my tolerations list and smiling every time I no longer tolerate something that was on that list. For example:

  • As a busy mom, I never made the time to get my minivan in the shop for a full two days during the week to get the doors fixed, but I made it happen last week. It was an inconvenience, relying on rides from others for two days, but it was so worth it! I have a new found gratitude for my automatic sliding doors, especially every morning as I carry my seven year old daughter, Ellie, into the car as we rush the kids to the bus. Why did I wait so long for this?
  • I also went to the eye doctor and got an eye exam and ordered some new glasses. Later, Delaney and I were bonding (ok, running errands) and we picked up some shoes that I had re-soled, and then we had a fun adventure at the car wash where I did an express detail and car wash. I’m still smiling!! I gave the guys a good tip because that car really needed a good wipe down!
  • About six weeks ago I sprained my ankle, and it was just not getting better. I decided that I couldn’t complain anymore if I wasn’t doing anything about it, so a few weeks ago I enrolled in physical therapy (and hope to graduate soon).

You get the point, right? I now find myself so happy every time I am able to get another one of these little annoyances off my list, and my happiness level just keeps increasing. It also means I get to focus on the really good stuff without all the tolerances hanging over my head. I’m also doing things that were not on the official list but are improving my quality of life and, as a result, I’m becoming even more productive.

I encourage you to think about some things that have been bothering you and preventing you from creating the life of your dreams. Write them down and then start chipping away at them. I’ve also learned to enlist the help of my family so that I do not shoulder the entire burden, so maybe that’s something you can do too. There are some beautiful things happening in my house and I don’t want to write about it because I don’t want to jinx myself! I’ll keep you posted on that!!

Give it a go, I promise, you will like it.