To-Do or Not To-Do…That is the Question!

Tips and Ideas to Stop Doing What Doesn’t Work

By Karen @ KB Naturally

I attended a wellness conference a while back and one of the speakers, Danielle Laporte, shared a message that really made an impact with me. We know when something speaks to our heart we need to listen and act on it.

Let me start by saying, I am an infamous list maker…a ‘Things To-Do’ person. As I sit here at my computer, I have about three different lists going at once. I find it very satisfying to get the items floating around in my head and putting them on paper. I find it even more satisfying to cross the items off my list once I have accomplished the task and even more enjoyable to be finished with the list and throw it in the trash. So good! Who’s with me on this? I know there are lots of us fellow list makers out there.

So, Danielle Laporte’s message was that just as important as a to-do list is, we should consider a Stop-Doing List as equally important! As I was wrapping myself around this idea I started wondering, ‘Is this a negative action? If I write things down that I don’t want to do anymore will I set the law of attraction in motion and create more of it?’ Whoa, I had to slow down a minute and really look at the possibilities this could produce. How great it would feel to take some of the things I want to stop doing in my life and not only make the declaration to do so but write it down and then rip that paper to shreds having let go of something that doesn’t serve me or feel good in my life anymore! Those pesky patterns and habits that can sometimes get in our own way and stop us from living our best lives.

While the to-do list is filled with everyday life tasks, the stop-doing list can run deep and allow us to sweep out some cobwebs that are in some dark recesses of our lives. Both lists hold you accountable and both are action oriented.

So, let’s look at the idea of a Stop-Doing List:

This is where you have to think about the things in your life that are causing your energy to drain. That when you think about it, it causes you to feel bad, mad, sad, guilty, etc. Since our life goal is to feel good, we don’t want to stay in these low vibrational energy emotions. They are definitely here to teach us something, but we just don’t want to permanently stay there…we want to shift. It’s very empowering to take charge of things in our life and be an active participant in creating change. When we know what we don’t want, we know what we do want!

Because I am an optimist by nature, I suggest you run two lists side-by-side and have a correlating positive action to take so you are not just writing something negative you want to release. You’ll also have an action plan to help you on your journey towards freeing your life up. So, taking something negative in your life and flipping it to a positive…it’s a win win!

Some Examples:

-Stop: staying up late so I can wake up early to exercise

-Action: Go to sleep at 10:00 pm and set alarm for 6:00 am

-Stop: getting angry about little things or taking things personally

-Action: When I feel myself getting upset…stop…take a deep breath (maybe two or even three)

-Stop: allowing people to take advantage of me

-Action: Practice speaking with a stronger voice (do mirror work) and ask myself, ‘Is this something I really want to do?’

-Stop: working with ______ on my business plan, it’s not a good match

-Action: Ask _____ who she uses and call them

Freeing ourselves up to stop doing things that cause us anguish will enable us to-do more things that bring us joy! After all, isn’t that what we are meant to be feeling?

What would you love to stop doing? Recognize it, write it down, stop doing it, cross it off! Yay!

Please share below what’s on your list.

Have fun and feel light.