On Pointe: How To Resist the Urge To Do It All EVEN IF You're Really Good At All the Things

The lesson I'm slowly but surely learning about myself

I’ll keep it tight today. On pointe… 😉

It clicked today after my afternoon meditation (leave it to the Tao…)

Today’s entry was titled Point.

If I didn’t know any better I’d feel attacked… lol. My takeaways were deeply personal. Here’s the gist…

A sharp point = Clear outcomes.

A big spread = fragmented energy, less decisiveness, and ultimately discontentment and disarray. Less than ideal, if you ask me…

This has been a theme in my life for as long as I can remember. I love connecting with people, I love to help them find their purpose or their people. I love teaching others how to eat better, move better and live a healthier lifestyle. I love helping people write songs and create music… play sports, do business better, you name it. If I can support someone, or know someone who can, I want to. And I’m pretty good at all these things. On top of it, I like doing all these things for myself too. So I frequently switch things up and keep it fresh to avoid the boredom I’d have to deal with of the less sexy stuff that move the needle forward: keeping on top of my current clients programs, projects and tasks, doing the admin/books and putting the reps in on outreach. (All of which carries risk of rejection)

When I decide to learn something, I want to learn it deep. The best way to learn is to teach so almost everything I do I try to get good enough to teach it. So, I’ve become a good teacher. That’s both a curse and a blessing.

I’m getting better at just staying in my lane and staying on “pointe” with my truest, most authentic self. Maybe getting closer to figuring out what that really is is a better way to put it. I’m getting better at recognizing when I start to veer off course chasing the shiny object… The timing’s been interesting considering the assignment I’m working on for my Active Life Professional designation.

“What’s one thing you’re compromising…”

Ugh. That feels heavy just reading it back. I know I’m my own limiter here and that’s a choice. The real gravity is that I’m also the only one who’s able to make a different choice. Here’s why that’s important if you’re anything like me and like to provide your world with value.

I’m compromising my ability to help the people I say I want to help because of my own inability — rather discipline — to stay sharp, on pointe and focused.

That then compromises my ability to financially support myself. I’m avoiding the uncomfortable things I need to do (deal with rejection) in order to get to help the people I can help, with the skills and experience I’ve accumulated.

I have learned (and actually also taught) most people forget about the ask. And without being asked, people very rarely offer up what you’re asking for.

I hope you can take that into the week. Whether it’s getting tasks done, staying disciplined on your nutrition or getting to the gym, being on time, having a conversation, finding a new relationship, cutting an old one, or just being a kind human… stay sharp, on pointe and focused. Go deeper rather than wider and you’ll see what happens when you start something and keep going.

That is the secret to success, after all.

ps. Upon writing this and reflecting for a moment here in Starbucks, I’ve realized that the common denominator of all the things I do is empowering people to do the things they never thought they could. So that’s pretty cool. Thanks for being here. ✌️