What's On Your Stop-Doing List?

Twice in 24 hours, I came across this question. I read Chris Guillebeau’s fabulous book The Art of Non-Conformity, then I dove right into Danielle LaPorte’s The Fire-Starter Sessions e-course. Both asked of me what I wanted to take off my plate.

Given that I’m looking forward to 2011 and realizing that I have some choices to make about how to expend my energy, this twice-in-24-hours serendipity seems like a giant bonk on the noggin from the Universe. Yes, Universe, I’m listening. 2010 has been busy- exceedingly busy. I’ve birthed two books, an integrative medicine practice, a new website, a magazine column, a 20 city book tour, a touring art project, and countless other creations. 2010 was a year of YES. I followed the motto “Just say YES,” and magical things happened because of that. I ventured down dark, overgrown paths with no road map; I said yes to people I didn’t know who wanted to meet me; I said yes to experiencing Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts and Sheila Kelley’s S Factor retreat and countless other transformative experiences.

But I can’t keep saying yes forever. Looking forward to 2011, I long for space — clear space, open space, creative nothingness. When I have space, my creativity flourishes. The Universe speaks to me and channels all kinds of juicy stuff through me. Things flow with ease. But when I’m busy all the time, everything gets all muddled.

Which means something’s gotta give. What will it be?

Danielle LaPorte suggests thinking of the tasks that call upon your time and energy and asking yourself these three questions:

1) What are you deeply passionate about?

2) What are you are genetically encoded for — what activities do you feel just “made to do”?

3) What makes economic sense — what can you make a living at?

If you can’t say yes to at least two of these questions when you think about what you’re doing, consider slapping it onto your stop-doing list.

Here are some preliminary thoughts of what’s going on mine (although I’m still pondering, so don’t hold me to this).

1 of 3

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

garima a.

5:47AM PST on Feb 15, 2011

true....mines already getting long in my head long

February 15
send a green star

Walter G.

8:41AM PST on Jan 11, 2011

I happened to show this piece to a friend of mine, who promptly typed in "masturbation," then paused, scratched his head and back-spaced over it. first he copied the word, then cut it, pasted it back, cut it, pasted . . . after about 30 repeats of this, I asked what he thought he was doing. He replied he couldn't give up what he had just discovered he could do using a keyboard. When I left he had a crowd of people from the retirement home he lives in all crowding around suggesting all sort of words to substitute.

January 11
send a green star

Victoria S.

5:38AM PST on Jan 11, 2011

Stop doing list an unusual take on things, but interresting approach

Roxana C.

7:07AM PST on Jan 4, 2011

This is new perspective. Thanks.

January 4
send a green star

Mit W.

2:21PM PST on Jan 3, 2011

My stop doing list?

Reading Deepok Chopra articles. (But the hilarity keeps pulling me back !)

January 3
send a green star

Barbara E.

11:21PM PST on Jan 2, 2011

Thanx for sharing

January 2
send a green star

Lois K.

2:02PM PST on Jan 2, 2011

I'm going to stop forgetting things!!

But then I forgot what I was supposed to remember not to forget. :o]

Loo S.

7:40AM PST on Jan 2, 2011

thanks for sharing.

Sheila N.

9:44PM PST on Jan 1, 2011

I'm going to do less of what I'm "supposed" to do and do much more of what I want to do. If I want to eat three oranges for dinner instead of a "balanced meal" then that's what I'm going to do. If I don't want to talk to family members who frickin' stress me out then I'm not going to talk to them. If I want to stay up until 3 a.m. reading Harry Potter for the fourth time then that's what I'm going to do.

January 1
send a green star

Scherry D.

10:34AM PST on Jan 1, 2011

Stop spending more than 1 hr on the internet... yes, that means limiting my time on care2.com, Facebook, Fat Wallet. I downloaded a countdown timer that I set to 1 hr... now I just have to walk away when it goes off!