Letting Go Experiment: Month 9

I am discovering that there is a correlation between letting go of material things and letting go of mental and emotional "stuff" - ideas, beliefs, habits, patterns, automatic reactions and feelings. This month I am definitely behind in letting go of material things, but I've had some interesting experiences in the non-material realm, the most recent being in this past week building up to the release of my monthly e-newsletter.

I have been writing and sending out an electronic newsletter (LifeWork Letter) once a month for a year and a half now. And in all that time, no newsletter has come out late (i.e. after the month is over) - until now. This time, my March newsletter came out in April.

Now, I am usually very good about keeping to schedules and doing things on time. And I used to get anxious and upset if I thought I might be late for anything - a party, a date, a movie, a meeting with a client, a newsletter release. This time was different.

I attribute this difference to the letting-go "practice" I have been doing since last June. This time, as I got close to my end-of-the-month release deadline and found myself in a time crunch, I was able to let go of this deadline and of the anxiety and stress it would normally cost me to do this. I accepted the reality that getting this done by March 31st would be very stressful, and would require a significant loss of sleep, and so I just let go and said to myself, "Oh well, this month the March issue will be late - so late that it will come out in April. How can I turn this lemon into lemonade?"

My first idea was to bring the newsletter out on April 1st and call it an April Fool's joke. That seemed like good "lemonade" to me. I could have fun with that. But then, I had an important family committment on April 1st, so that plan didn't work out and the newsletter finally came out on the 2nd - almost at midnight.

So where's the "lemonade"? Well, for one thing there will be two newsletters in April, and this will be a great opportunity for me to continue my exploration On Being a Peaceful Warrior in a Part 2 issue. In addition, this letting-go experience has been a great lesson for me, and now I hope for you also.

Perhaps you'll have the opportunity to say "Oh, well..." and just let it go!

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Although this Blog site is not set up to be interactive at this time, feel free to contact me with your comments.

Email: connie@conniekomack.com
Web: www.conniekomack.com

Letting Go Experiment: Month 8

I must confess that this month I am about 15 items behind in my one-a-day letting-go process. But that's not a problem, because I tend to let go of items in batches, as I go about sorting through closets, shelves, drawers, and other stashes of stuff. The hardest thing to let go of this month so far has been my subscription to Poets and Writers, a magazine that intriques me though I never seem to get around to reading it. Perhaps I'll pick it up again in a year or two when I have more time to devote to writing.

The best thing I did for myself this month in this Letting-Go Experiment involved a purchase rather than a discard. I have a huge problem with the rapid accumulation of junk mail that seems to land on my dining table, which is close to my front door. A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a shredder designed especially for the quick and convenient disposal of junk mail and other papers with personal information in them - mail that could compromise one's privacy. Well, I put this handy dandy shredder right near the table where I have been dumping my mail each day, and now I immediately go through the day's mail and run all the junk through the shredder.

What system do you use to handle your junk mail? How could a shredder help you conquer your clutter?

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Although this Blog site is not set up to be interactive at this time, feel free to contact me with your comments.

Email: connie@conniekomack.com
Web: www.conniekomack.com

Choice Point - Get a Job or Start a Business?

So many people today face this decision at some point in their working life. Some right out of the gate, after high school or college. Some after being downsized or fired. Some in midlife, when a desire for change is at its peak. Some at retirement.

The question is: which is the best decision for You?

Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. There are many factors to consider. Some are internal, or are specific to you. Other factors are external, and are influenced by factors outside yourself, such as economics, business climate, competition, politics, family issues, social issues, finances, and other external factors.

In the next series of Blog articles, we will explore many different aspects of entrepreneurship and what it means to be an entrepreneur. We will start with some of the internal factors, such as personal qualities, risk tolerance, and financial readiness - all meant to help you answer the question, Is Entrepreneurship Right for Me?

Tackling this question, this decision, this choice point, reminds me of the Robert Frost poem, The Road Not Taken. It is a definite choice point in one's life - a decision as large as deciding to marry or to have children. It is a decision that deserves to be carefully considered, for entrepreneurship requires a strong committment. And perhaps, if you choose the entrepreneurial path, you will find yourself one day echoing Frost's words:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.