Why You Should Pay Attention to The Stuff That Bugs You

There have been a lot of adjustments, big and small, that I’ve had to make as a life-long city girl who moved to the country. 🏙 → 🌾

One of those is that my car always gets super dirty, now that I live in a house off of several bumpy dirt roads. Dust-y!

Also, it seems like Europeans are more fastidious about car cleanliness than Americans.

Maybe it’s an Oregon thing, but I rarely washed my car when I lived in Portland (the rain washes it for you ☔️!).

Here in our small town in Catalonia, it seems that most people hit the self-serve car wash weekly (especially on Fridays, to get ready to go out during the weekend).

Anyway, regardless of my attempts to keep my car up to local standards (amid all the dust of the farm), the inside of the windshield has been filthy for months.

I’d tried to clean it on several different occasions but I couldn’t seem to get this dirty film off, that really affected visibility in the summer sun.

It bugged me so much that yesterday after dropping the kids off at school, I spent a half hour before work washing the windshield (I tried the internet’s recommendation of rubbing alcohol and then window cleaner, but in the end good old dishsoap and water did the trick).

Then my husband pulled in with his truck and I cleaned the inside of his windshield too.

The first couple of hours of my mornings are precious to me, usually reserved for writing and other creative projects, but I have to say, my crystal clear windshield gave me an unexpectedly outsized sense of satisfaction.

It had really been bugging me.

It was a good reminder that sometimes, taking care of the things that are bugging us, no matter how big or small, important or seemingly trivial, can be important sources of energy.

There are two key elements to managing our energy. They're essentially two sides of the same coin.

➡️ On one side, we need to be sure we do things every day that renew our energy.

These are basics like getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating well. We also have spiritual or emotional sources of renewal, like spending quality time with a loved one, listening to music, or enjoying nature.

➡️ On the other side, we need to eliminate our “tolerations,” the things that drain our energy.

Thomas Leonard, a founder of personal coaching, defined tolerations as “things that bug us, sap our energy, and could be eliminated.”

He encouraged people to become a “toleration-free zone” in his book the 28 Laws of Attraction.

Are you curious about how you could free up more of your energy?

Here’s a simple exercise to help you start reducing your energy drains.

1. Write down 50 things you’re tolerating. Yes, you do have 50, or more! Take 15 minutes to list them all. They can be minor, or even seemingly impossible to resolve.

Look for tolerations in your relationships, finances, home and living environment, personal health and appearance, habits and behaviors, work and office, car, computer and other possessions.

2. Take a deep breath. There’s a chance here that your list will feel overwhelming. That's okay. Maybe you can’t take care of everything right away, but there is a lot you can get started on.

3. Eliminate at least one toleration a day this week. If it is as simple as oiling a squeaky door hinge, that’s fine! Do it.

You essentially have four options with each toleration:

Assign a Due Date. Get it done.

Delegate it. Maybe it’s better done by someone else.

Discard it. Do you need it anymore? Can you just get rid of it?

Detach from it. Maybe you can't change it. Time to accept things for how they are and let go of struggling with them.

4. Check in after one week. How do you feel? What do you notice about your energy levels?

5. Do this for 30, 60 or 90 days. Find a way to make it a habit. If you need support to stay on track, find a friend, coach or accountability partner to help you.

Something important to remember about not taking care of tolerations is that there is a cost.

They’re dragging you down.

Seeing that you can take consistent action and follow through on improvements can be a big source of confidence.

Knowing that you have a system for addressing your tolerations can help you focus on the bigger more important things in life and work.

This is why it's so important to invest a little extra effort in taking care of this seemingly small (or even big) stuff.

Take 10 minutes a day to address your tolerations. You can do it.

You’ll feel so much more energetic and free.

What toleration will you take care of this week?

Also, although it seems silly that I’m still happy every time I notice my clean windshield, it’s important to embrace it.

This is important for your energy too.

Allow yourself also to feel good about taking care of these tolerations.

Celebrations, mini or mega, sustain us through all of life’s twists and turns.