SubscribeA few days ago, I was at the playground with two of my little ones. Loosh, as we often call our 17-month-old, was off exploring in the grass and wood chips. He took a little stumble, grabbed the earth with all he could and came up with two fists full of wood chips. He was clinging to them for dear life and did not want to let them go. He paraded around the playground with hands full of chunks of earth, until he came upon something he wanted to hold even more.
It was really fascinating watching him figure out what to do next. He looked at one hand and then the other and realized that they were both full. Then he looked at the new thing that he wanted and realized that something would have to go. He looked at his hands again, and then back at the flower and then made a choice. He decided to fit as many of the wood chips as he could in one hand, letting the excess fall to the ground. Then he grabbed the wilting dandelion that his sister, JoJo, was handing to him, which he proceeded to smash under his nose and in his mouth — his dramatic way of imitating sniffing. Before long, he was off to looking for the next greatest thing.
As I watched Loosh go through this process of filling his hands, discovering something else he wanted to hold and then making a choice about what his was willing to let go of and how much, I was reminded of how we, as adults, face the same choices – particularly as working parents.
What do you do when faced with a tough choice? What process do you go through when adding something new to your plate? How do you decide what to let go of in order to make room for what’s new? Do you let go, or do you just keep piling it on?
Stay tuned for an article with tips on how to make empowering choices.