Remove What’s in the Way
What’s the one thing that, if it were removed, would get you so much closer to the life you want to be living?
Maybe you would want your noisy, upstairs neighbors to be removed.
Perhaps you would ask for your micromanaging boss to be gone.
If you live in San Francisco as I do, you might opt for the fog (so prominent here that it has a name - Karl) to be permanently banned.
I understand that these kinds of things could make life go better for you and me. But you know what all of these have in common? They are all outside of our control. So let’s make sure the one thing we need to be removed is something we can actually control.
What if waking up earlier gave you an extra hour to pursue your dreams?
What if you remove yourself from something you’re a part of that really has nothing to do with your calling?
What if you walked away from a toxic substance or a toxic relationship in your life?
While all of these things might not be easy, they are all within your control...meaning you can actually do something about them.
In different seasons of my life, finding one thing to remove has helped me to get closer to living out the vision and purpose of my life. Here are a few “one things” from my life:
Remove extra sleep from my life: When I realized that if I didn’t wake up before my young kids, I’d never have time alone with God or just to enjoy some silent space in my day. To make this happen, I had to remove the luxury of sleeping in. Though I couldn’t have imagined myself becoming a morning person, I have been one since 2011.
Removing my notes: In 2013, I wanted to be able to connect even deeper with the audiences I was speaking to. I asked myself what I needed to do to make that happen. I thought to myself, “I need to maintain eye contact with my audience as much as possible while I’m speaking.” This led to me realizing I should remove my dependence on notes. This led me to start memorizing all of my talks. It’s made a massive difference.
Removing my ability to be contacted: Creating content (like I’m doing right now) is a huge part of my job and my calling. And since I’m at my best in the mornings, I need to remove checking email and other distractions from my morning time. While I’m not perfect at this, let me encourage you to remove most, if not all, notifications from your phone. And when you’re doing work that needs your focus, use that “Do Not Disturb” function on your phone. Then call me and tell me about all the amazing things you’re able to produce in half the time.
