Uncovering Importance of Essentialism
This past two weeks while I was vacationing with my family in the North Bay, every day, we chose an activity that would get us connected with the outdoor – exploring nature, soaking in the sound of waves, listening to the fog horns, and watching sea birds soared above the water. We wrapped up our day by slowing down, listening to songs from Aretha Franklin, Neil Diamond, and Los Lobos from an old record player.
After a few days of having to make lots of decisions on how we would spend our time relaxing
while being rewarded with experiences of new places that we had traveled, I found that I was a little exhausted by planning many activities to focus on, and forgetting to enjoy the spontaneity of things.
When I was able to sit down at night and read up on “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown, it dawned on me that we need to practice “essentialism” not just in our work space, but also outside of work — especially when we needed to tune into our vacation mode.
What Does Being an “Essentialist” Mean?
The term “Essentialism” advocates the core mindset of an “Essentialist.” Being an “Essentialist” means that “we choose to”:
1) Explore options before making a decision on where to spend our time and energy
2) Eliminate trivial from many to focus on what’s important, and
3) Remove obstacles and make execution as easy as possible
By examining the core mindset of an “Essentialist,” I find that I’ve already embraced a similar mindset because I, too, care about where to focus my energy and time to create the most impact and serve at the highest level, instead of trying to do everything that’s been asked of me.
By the same token, this is a similar mindset that I’ve been advocating with my clients, in their business, marketing strategy, and priority setting – by focusing on things that they love to do and doing them well.
Because of the “essentialist” guiding principle that I’ve adopted and practiced on a consistent basis,
I’m seeing that I’ve experienced less burnouts.
I am able to prioritize my energy first so I can have the overflows to serve others at the highest level.
I have also found that I’m more consistent in setting boundaries and following through on them, and people around me respect this new paradigm shift.
Shifting from “We Have To” to “We Choose To”
The teaching moment for you and me is that if we stop letting ourselves believe in the mindset that “we have to,” and shifting it to “we choose to,” you’ll notice that:
1) Less is more and better
2) Pursuit more essentials and less trivial, and
3) Life is better when we do great work that matters to our happiness
This is the model of an “Essentialist.” I think you, too, can glean from the powerful mindset of an Essentialist and develop your own model that will work with your business, marketing, professional and personal endeavors.
I’m confident that you will achieve great things and create impact with powerful ripple effects.
With gratitude,
Coach Jen
