Too Much

Too much of a good thing can, well, too much.  When trying to accomplish your dream those two words can be a stumbling block and a distraction, especially in the beginning.  The girls and I go through periods of this in several areas and even just recently had to take a look at things and see where too much was creeping in.  It was time to reprioritize some things in order to devote time and resources to the dream we wanted to fulfill.

First, there was too much activity.  Not everything can be avoided.  Sometimes trips have to be made, kids need to be rescued, and that haircut has to happen.  However, as I stressed in Someone Stole My Time, it doesn’t take much to suck the hours out of a day.  It’s even tougher if you’re trying to make a go of something while still working a forty hour week.  Family demands time and you want to hang out with your friends.  There’s that trip you want to take and there are always meetings.  If you have children, then you have to add in their activities, as well.  The eight-year old just joined Girl Scouts and, although they meet for an hour and a half every other week, they do something every weekend.  In the spring she will be in soccer and that just gets added to the schedule of activities.

Of course, all of that gets put on top of the normal stuff, such as grocery shopping, car maintenance, and that honey-do-list around the house that just seems to get longer and longer.  I still haven’t hung up the pictures on our back porch that the girls wanted me to last month.  Furthermore, it doesn’t help that we’re naturally social people and not just going out bar-hopping type of social.  No, we love to entertain at the house with costume parties and cookouts, pool parties and wine tasting events.  Pretty soon, I’m too tired to even think about lifting my pen.

Another on the too much list is the amount of money we waste, and I do mean waste.  This, in part, coincides with the too-much-activity, because most of what we do requires some amount of cash, even if it’s a cookout at the house.  Of course, right now it’s the holiday season and I’m snatching up Halloween and Christmas decorations, because, well, I’m addicted to the holidays.  It’s almost as bad as my writing supply habit.  Of course, each of the girls has their own must-have and soon the surplus cash we thought we had is a negative and we wonder where it all went.

Part of the answer can be discovered in the cabinets and garage.  We have way too much stuff.  This was made quite apparent last month when we moved Sarah and Dylan in.  We had to have a garage sale and still even had to donate a bunch of things to a thrift store before we had room for their possessions, which also had to be weeded through.  However, the holiday decorations were untouched.  There is, after all, a limit to what I will do without.  Too much stuff means clutter.  It requires time to maintain and even if it’s a cute knick knack it will have to be dusted.  That adds to your reduction of time and cleaning activity is still activity.  The more time you have to devote to maintaining your stuff, the less time you will have to devote to your dream.

How bad do you want to see that vision of yours come true?  How bad do you want to be an artist or a musician, start your own business or just finish school?  If you want it bad enough, then it has to be a priority.  The best way to do that is to simplify everything else in your life; at least until you get yourself established.  That means you have to cut back on the Too Much part of your life.  Say no to some of those activities.  Control your wasteful spending so that the capital is available for your venture without stressing you out in other areas, such as car payments or mortgage.  Furthermore, stop accumulating things unless you absolutely need them.  This will free up time, space, and money.  Soon, you’ll be able to focus more on making your dream a reality rather than simply surviving your current reality.

None of those things are necessarily terrible.  However, too much of a good thing can turn it into a bad thing, and if these excesses are hindering you from fulfilling your dreams, then they are more than bad; they’re deadly.  Don’t kill your dream by allowing Too Much to happen beyond your control.  Simplify your life and gain the freedom to succeed.

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