What is essential to you?
I believe choosing the essentials is loving ourselves~
You’re listening to the Love Tidbits Podcast, where you’ll discover a small, tasty, delightful, bite-sized tidbit of love ~ I’m your host, LeAnn Austin
Hey y’all, welcome to Love Tidbits, episode #30: The Essentials
Summer is wrapping up, school is back in session for some of you, and reading the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown, has got me thinking a lot about what are the essentials?
Greg starts his book with a quote from Lynn Yutang: “Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.”
We’ve been exploring this in my Lovin Me program. It’s fascinating to me how taking care of and loving ourselves, is honing in on what is essential to each one of us.
We’re really good at loving others and doing what they want, but when we don’t prioritize our lives, someone else will. Have you noticed this in your life, maybe with your kids, your partner, a friend, your work, your church, or whatever? When we’re not intentional about what is truly essential for us, the non-essentials take over. Like Greg says, “We can either make our choices deliberately, or allow other people’s agendas to control our lives.”
This may look like saying no a lot more often. Thank goodness Rosa Park’s quiet, but resolute refusal to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus, propelled the civil rights movement. As hard as it can be to say no to someone, failing to do so can cause us to miss out on something far more important.
Greg’s book Essentialism, has lots of amazing quotes and practical tips to create an essentialist life. I highly recommend reading this book.
A couple of other things that he mentions that I love:
The power we have to choose. Choice is at the very core of being a human. We don’t have to do most things. We have agency. What if we chose to do the things that are most essential and loving for us? What would that look like?
Greg talks about the impact of play. He says, “Play has the power to significantly improve everything from personal health, to relationships, to education, to organization’s ability to innovate. Nothing fires up the brain like play. When we play, we are engaged in our purest expression of humanity, the truest expression of our individuality. Is it a wonder that often the times we feel most alive, those that make up our best memories, are moments of play.”
And lastly, Greg talks of sleep. This is an asset we want to protect. This is something I’ve been thinking so much about, and getting more of. It makes a difference when we get our sleep.
My favorite quote from Greg’s book is this: “The best asset we have for making a contribution to the world is ourselves. If we underinvest in ourselves, and by that I mean our minds, our bodies, and our spirits, we damage the very tool we need to make our highest contribution.” Hmmm, something to think about.
I believe loving ourselves is choosing the essentials in our lives. This is why I created the Lovin Me program. This beautiful community is a space where we learn and practice countless skills, discover what is essential in our lives, strengthen our mental & emotional muscles, and truly become experts at loving ourselves.
Have a good one y’all ~ and here’s to the essentials and love.
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