What’s up, Monday Mantra? This is one of my own personal favorite series on CUR, and I hope you love it justasmuch. While I usually end up feeling more motivated after writing, I hope you end up ten times that motivated after reading! Nothing beats some juicy Monday motivation to start the week amiright?? Today’s inspirational cuppa tea: a rosy twist on the ol’ “do less with more focus” idea.

Do you ever wake up, heart already beating fast with the sinking feeling of weight on your chest as you mentally run over your day’s to-do list? You don’t even make it to the Keurig and you’re feeling stressed and irritable and less-than-stoked to start the day, because it’s just so dang much on your daily plate.

Maybe you’ve just got an exceptionally craycray schedule today, maybe you’re a chronically anxious person, or maybe you’re close to burnout.

Either way, it’s way too easy in today’s “hustle harder” society to feel more inclined to do MORE than do LESS. If you have dreams and goals you want to accomplish, society says GO GO GO! Faster, harder, smarter, longer…more! There are two ends of the spectrum. 1.) Hustle hard and don’t stop. If you’re resting, you’re doing it wrong, you’re missing out on money, you’re not reaching goals, you’re falling short. 2.) Live a life that lets you take a day off on a Tuesday to bingewatch a new Netflix release (#OITNB) in sweats with a box of pizza and box of wine.

It’s overwhelming.

Which brings us to this:

 

“Do less, receive more.”

Before diving in, let’s get a few things straight.

This doesn’t mean slack off, nor does it imply you should just piggyback your way through life on other’s successes and efforts. No way, José.

It means there’s an order of operations, if you will – a checklist to follow in order to maximize your time, minimize your stress, and make the most out of everything you do.

We beat ourselves up everytime we don’t get through an entire to-do list, we feel like failures anytime we see someone on Instagram living a more glamorous life on seemingly less hustle, we battle insignificance whenever we get to drowning-level and we fear we’ll lose our minds under the surface of the stresses and anxieties and worries and doubts of our everyday realities.

We’re doing so damn much. We’re trying so damn hard. We’re working so damn much.

And we’re not seeing any sort of “payoff” – no return on the investment.

And we’re sent spiraling in panic and self-loathing, the dream diminishing to just that – a dream – instead of coming to fruition as an attainable *thing*.

But we’re doing too much.

We’re spending so much time trying to play catch up in our own lives, that we’re falling behind. We’re burning out. We’re falling short on all accounts. Instead of constantly looking to do MORE, it’s due time we step back and do LESS – only with more focus.

We’re not getting through whole to-do lists because the list is jampacked with things that don’t even fit the time blocks in our day. We’re judging ourselves based on other people’s Instagram profiles, forgetting that pictures speak a thousand words and none of them show the FULL picture. We become consumed inside stress because we’re not sure what the heck to focus on, so we focus on EVERYTHING and it all carries weight.

But when you do less with more focus, you open yourself up to receiving more out of life in every regard.

Source:

Instead of trying to “do it all” ala Superwoman, remember that Superwoman didn’t actually do it all. Her powers always wore off after 24 hours. She could “do it all” for awhile, but it was literally impossible to be Super forever.

Because even Superwoman needed time to recharge. Everyone needs time to regroup, rejuvenate, and remember your WHY.

The next time you feel overwhelmed by #allthethings and need a breather from life, get in front of your mirror and give yourself a good look. See your furrowed brow, your frazzled face, your wigged out look of burnout, and remind yourself that you don’t need to be like that. You are enough, just as you are, and you can be more by doing less.

Give yourself a gentle reminder, right in your own eyes:

• I don’t have to do it all at one time.
• Even Superwoman didn’t do it all.
• I am enough, just as I am.
• I can be more by doing less.
• I do not need to stress, worry, or panic over what-if’s.
• I have the ability to create my ideal life without sacrificing myself.
• I give myself grace to do less and receive more.
• I can focus more on less for better end results all around.
• I an open to doing less, and I am open to receiving more.
• I don’t have to do it all at one time.

When you vow to do LESS, you’re enabling yourself to dive deeper with a more pinpointed focus. Your mind isn’t scrambling to fit it all in at one time anymore. Instead of half-heartedly, haphazardly doing 15 things, you can do 7 things better, smarter, more carefully than before. You become more apt to remember things, better at prioritizing your time, and more equipped to really perform at your best.

Because of that, you’re open to receiving more. You’re setting yourself up to receive more goodness, because you’re more intentional with the good that you’re giving to others and the world. Instead of always looking for more, looking for less helps you set apart what really matters in your life, versus what you feel like you “have to” do for whatever reason. It’s clarifying, rejuvenating, and freeing.

Do less, receive more.

How do you see your own life shift when you do less with more focus?

I’d lovelovelove to hear your own take on all of the above. Do you feel stifled by “the hustle”? Do you hate the hustle altogether? How does it work for you to literally do less, just with a more precise focus? Drop some of yo’ own wisdom in a comment below for some MEGA Monday motivation, and let’s chat about it.

P.S. Are you sick of having your inbox flooded with store promotions, spam, and other lame stuff that you could not care less about receiving? Receive more GOODNESS in your inbox every Sunday night to start yo’ week off right by joining the Uplifting party we’ve got going on right here. You’ll receive one email per week (every Sunday evening, and not one day more!) with a heavy dose of motivation and girl talk (it’s always a two-way convo), a pinnable quote, pretty (+ sometimes shoppable 😉 ) pic, funny video, and links to any of the week’s blog posts that you mighta missed from doing too much in other areas of life. 😉 JOIN US. Did I mention it’s f-r-e-e?