Earlier this month, our family education program speaker Greg McKeown presented the topic of essentialism and the importance of doing less, but better. In his book entitled Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg explains that essentialism “is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done.” When life presents you with different responsibilities and challenges, it’s important to remember to keep clear about what you realistically want to achieve and what makes sense for your success. It also means you may realize that on the surface, success isn’t always easy to define.
When you think about what success actually means to you, the response shouldn’t be “everything” or “to have it all” because those answers lack clarity. Greg warns us that this type of thinking leads us to be overworked and distracted —and I agree. We begin participating in trade-offs, often ones that aren’t truly valuable to our goals in life. Instead, we need to understand how to properly define our success and use that to guide our progress—real progress. Learning to say no is okay. Cutting something out that isn’t working is okay. Make sure the things that you agree and commit to make sense for your life. Sometimes it’s as simple as stepping back and asking yourself if what you are about to agree to is a meaningful use of your time and energy.
Don’t let others write your story; trust your instincts and find what’s essential within your life. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
Dotti Reeder is managing director of the client advisory team at Tolleson Wealth Management.