Creating a Toleration-Free Zone

@Redmountainspa

By Cindy Clemens,
Life Coach

Spring is a great time of year for cleaning up and clearing out. Something about this time of year makes us ready to sort through the collection of stuff we’ve accumulated during the past year, decide what we want to keep and develop a game plan for those things we want to get rid of. We can use this same energy to do a spring cleaning on ourselves – to look at the things we are tolerating in our lives that are weighing us down and to find ways to eliminate or learn to deal with those tolerations. Believe it or not, it really is possible to make your life a toleration-free, and much less stressful, zone.

First, you need to look at what you are tolerating in your life. What are you putting up with that you’d rather not put up with? What is draining you of your energy? How can you make yourself more efficient? These may be things in your home or workplace, issues with friends or family or personal habits you have tolerated for years. I suggest you make a list and write down whatever you are currently tolerating that you would like to get rid of or learn how to deal with better.

When I first began to look at the tolerations in my life, I was surprised at the number of seemingly small things that were really bugging me. For example, my husband bought a rubber mat and put it in the kitchen sink. Every day when I had to clean the sink and also the rubber mat, I would become very irritated. Since I was at the kitchen sink several times a day that meant I was irritated several times a day. Until I wrote down my list, I didn’t realize how much that rubber mat interfered with my peace of mind.

The second step is to look at several ways that you could alleviate each of the tolerations. These could be ways to eliminate them, phase them out or look at them differently. By giving yourself more than one way of dealing with them, you are opening yourself up to all of the possible solutions. You may even want to ask someone else for his or her ideas about dealing with a particular toleration. Just try to be open-minded and creative.

For me, I considered getting rid of the rubber mat, getting rid of my husband who seemed so attached to the stupid mat or asking him why he bought it in the first place. I decided to try the last option first and discovered that he actually had a good reason. The porcelain in our kitchen sink was quite thin, and the rubber mat would help protect it and make it last longer. Additionally, he said that if it really bugged me, he would clean it himself every day. Wow, by just admitting that it was bugging me and asking for some assistance, I was able to get rid of that toleration. It’s amazing how easy that was.

In fact for many of your tolerations, just being aware that you are putting up with them will begin the resolution process. You will be surprised how your subconscious mind will work on eliminating these energy drains once you admit they are there. You’ll naturally start handling, eliminating, fixing, growing through and resolving these tolerations. Solutions will come to you and you will find that your list will begin to shorten.

Unfortunately, not all tolerations can be dealt with so easily. Some will require a greater degree of commitment to resolving or eliminating them. The trick is to remind yourself of the benefits of living in a toleration-free zone. You will stop putting up with things that shouldn’t be in your life in the first place. You will have much more energy to devote to the things that really matter to you in life. You will have more quality time to spend with your friends and family. In other words, you have much better things to do in your life than deal with tolerations and your effort toward eliminating them will pay significant dividends.

So, this year as you welcome in Spring and tackle all of those projects around the house that you’ve put off, consider tackling a few nagging tolerations in your life. Once you start taking notice, you’ll be surprised how many times a day you allow your energy to be drained. Make a commitment to creating a toleration-free zone.