Pruning Dead Leaves

Gardening Tip 101: Prune the dead leaves from your plants.

Ever wonder why you should do this?

(I promise this has less to do with plants and more to do about personal growth.)

Because when you do, the energy that’s keeping the crunchy brown leaves alive diverts itself to the growth of new buds. Any plant that’s consistently deadheaded is given a greater chance to thrive.

[ASIDE: Deadheading means: To remove dead flower heads from (a plant) to encourage further blooming.]

Pruning is critical work in life too.

But in life, it’s the act of evaluating your time distribution and trimming out the projects that don’t inspire you.

Get rid of them little by little, just like you’d prune a plant with clippers. A little snip here. A little snip there. You will massively boost your joy quotient.

Inspired people are inspiring. When you do more of what inspires you, you’ll get inspired and you’ll be more inspiring to others. You might feel so good about one initial prune that you’ll continue until your entire life blooms into an expression of all the people and projects that invigorate you.

Fail to do this, and you will deplete your daily energy stores on tasks that suck you dry. You’ll be the cause of your own lack of fulfillment.

So let’s get on with the pruning: Where are you spending most of your time? What are you focusing on? Are the actions you’re taking aligned with what you truly want?

These are critical questions to ask NOW.

Time is our most precious commodity. And it runs out. Statistically speaking, most people have the revelation that they should’ve pruned when it’s far too late. At which point, they are prunes themselves! Dried up, old and withered people who resent life for dreams they never realized.

Don’t do that.

Might it be time to simply your life? Or say “no” a bit more? Do more of what brings you joy and less of what doesn’t?

Today, pause and take stock. Prune just a little. And welcome some new.