Last month, I wrote about gearing up for the new semester in order to do your best work. Now I want to discuss the flip side: What is it time to let go of?

Do you garden? I love to garden, though I concentrate on flowers and herbs, not household food production. What started as one simple peppermint sprig is now taking over everything in its path, less than a year later. For those of you who do not garden, mint is one of those plants that propagate by sending forth runners under the ground. Every sprig that emerges is connected to that mother plant. It also means it is incredibly satisfying to rip it up and out, pulling great swaths of the stuff forth from the dirt and seeing the connected roots of additional plants with clumps of dirt to shake off even as it fills the air with a delicious smell. In a mere fifteen minutes you can clear large patches of the garden for something you do want to grow there.

See a metaphor blooming here? As you embark on your own fall adventures, what is it time to rip out of the way so that something you really want to grow can emerge?

How about all those files that you’ve been meaning to get around to cleaning out, but never quite have the energy to open. Professional organizer statistics tell us that 80% of all the materials we file, we never, ever look at again. What can you delete? Throwing things out is guaranteed to make you feel lighter. Not to mention that you are letting the light in for some new growth. What are the old projects that no longer excite you? What would you really like to do instead? (If you need help figuring out how to clean out your paper and keep it from taking over your life, join me on the teleseminar Organize to Prioritize)

What else can you let go of? Maybe it’s letting go of being the perfect teacher. Robert Boyce’s wonderful book, Advice to New Faculty Members (2000) is subtitled Nihil Nimus. What does that mean? Roughly translated, it means “Good enough.” He also advises to start doing before you are ready, and to stop before diminishing returns set in. So, let go of over preparation, and know that you are the expert in the classroom.

Is there a dissertation, article or book that needs to be put aside? Be clear about what is most important to you, and say “yes” only to the things that will help you accomplish what you want. Ask yourself, “Is this (invitation, committee, project) going to help me meet my own goals, or is it going to create a longer ‘to do’ list where the important pieces fall to the bottom of the pile and never get done?” Be clear about your responsibilities and set your priorities accordingly. Remember to tell other people what you are not getting done, or choosing not to get done, though, so your reputation doesn’t suffer.

Maybe it’s even bigger for you. Perhaps you have been thinking that you need a different career. How will you decide? Get clear about what you love, and what you don’t want to ever do again, then look at the skills you already have as well as what you are willing to learn. Include the financial cost and time for this transition, too. Then ask yourself, “Am I really ready to let this go?” Answer honestly. No one needs to know the answer but you.

Fear is the driving force that causes most people to push ahead and attempt to literally overpower their feelings of impending doom. Fear has a few recognizable kindred, too, like worry, shame, stress, anxiety, but they are all, like that mint sprig, propagated from the same source. You may not be able to rip out all fear, and in fact that might be counterproductive, since a little bit of fear akin to stage fright can help you perform better rather than worse. But you can let go of the need to overcompensate for your fear.

Start by imagining the best possible outcome instead of the worst. Then focus on the process instead of the outcome. Stop caring about it, whether you are imagining disaster or triumph. Just focus on the work. Now, let go of whatever is no longer serving you, from paper to people, and watch your life take off.

 

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