According to Britannica.com, autumnal leaf drop is a form of self-protection. Dropping leaves gives the plant a fresh start in the spring, and the nutrients from decaying leaves are recycled to help grow the next leafy generation. If trees haven’t taught us enough, autumn leaves are not simply blown off trees but are separated from the plants in a highly controlled process. In general, if leaves were kept all winter, these unproductive appendages would gather weight and cause breakage to the trees physical integrity……
Arguably, pruning may be one of the hardest tasks of #adulting. We humans have such a hard time letting go, allowing a natural end, saying goodbye, or simply identifying this season in your life has changed. I recently found myself in this conundrum. There were areas in my life I needed to take a hard look at how effective I was in the commitment, as well as if continuing allowed me to to keep my life in balance. Rather than allowing over-commitments to cause breakage, I brewed a cup of tea, grabbed a notebook and took some time for deep reflection. The reflection table below allowed me to process inputs and decisions on paper. While thinking through this reflection, I anchored my process in the scripture Ecclesiastes 3:1. “For everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven“.
- Questions to reflect upon:
- How effective am I in this current commitment?
- Do I have time + energy to continue
- How much time does this commitment need?
- Is people-pleasing playing a role?
- We can all fall trap in over-committing to please others.
- How would I use this time instead?
- This is probably the most important question. At one point when I was filling in this box, I could’ve listed more than one item! I realized in that moment there clearly were more important commitments to myself I had been stalling while not evaluating this one.
- Decision
- Typing out the decision helps to externally process the decision.
- How effective am I in this current commitment?
| Commitment | My current effectiveness to this commitment 1-5 | Time Allocation (hours/month) | How would you use that time instead? | Decision |
| XXX Volunteering | 2 | 6 hrs | Increase time guest lecturing | End commitment |
| xxx Event | 1 | 3 hrs | Family fall tradition | Turn down invitation |
| Non-essential home projects | 2 | 7-8 hrs | Increased holiday plans with friends and family | Pause starting Projects until after holidays |
| Low priority project | 1 | 4-5 | Increased time to for High priority project | Extend project date to 2024 |
| Speaking commitment | 5 | 4-5 hrs | There’s nothing I’d rather do! | Make time to work on speech |
My final advice as you conduct this process, is give yourself grace. Don’t agitate the process by abhorring over commitments, or over-worry about others opinions of your decisions. It’s important to be considerate of all, but know pouring out of an empty cup benefits no one.
In peace,
J
References:
https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-leaves-fall-in-autumn