Are you ready to start something new?

If you are going to do something new, you are going to have to stop doing something you used to do.

It is a simple fact. There are only 1440 minutes in a day. You used to use those minutes one way, now you will use them another. Typically, when we decide to move forward, we have to let go of some of our calming activities.

What are calming activities? Those safe places where our brain retreats and we “treat” ourselves. It might be a retreat into a book, television, food, gaming, etc. None of which are bad, but all things that can take over our lives.

Remember when your kids were little and it was time to get them off the binky (pacifier)? Yeah. Letting go of calming activities is exactly the same.

When my oldest was four (yes, four), we decided she needed to give up her crutch. So, we took her to Target. Suddenly, a Barbie caught her eye. She wanted that Barbie. “You can have the Barbie, if you give me the Binky forever,” I said. “This means that you will never be allowed to have the Binky again, not when you sleep, not when you whine. You can never have it again.”

We walked around Target well past closing time – they gave three notices that the store was about to close. Finally, without a decision, we headed to checkout. Just as we pulled into the cashier, she made the choice. “Okay.” I ran back to the Barbie aisle. At the checkout we traded one Skipper doll for Binky.

The next few days were a little rough. I remember the culminating conversation in the car:

“No, you can’t have your Binky.”

“Because I made a choice?”

“Yes, because you made a good choice.”

What is it that you want to start doing?

Are you ready to let go of something else? 

In five years, what will your life look like if you change how you use your 1440 minutes each day?