Pick one.

In the interest of getting unstuck this past week I had to start making choices. There were three things I wanted to spend my time on. Three big, meaty, all-encompassing projects. Three!

For some this may seem an embarrassment of riches. How wonderful to have three things to be so passionate about. Yet, for me, it had resulted in being stuck. Over the past months I worked a little on all three. And nothing really moved forward.

So, I picked one.

I thought I would feel relief. I thought I would be excited. But mostly I felt a bit sad and deflated. See, I love all three things. And yet, there is not enough time in the day to commit to each. So, I chose.

You might think that my sadness or deflation was a sign I chose the wrong one. I don’t think so. I believe I would feel the same way regardless of which one I opted to devote time and energy towards.

It’s a function of loving all of them. It’s a function of realizing that by choosing one I am saying ‘no’ to the others. Even though I love them.

Sigh.

So if I were my own best friend and I was sitting here stuck, with three wonderful things to pick from, I would be gentle yet firm with myself. “You must pick one,” I would tell myself. “Right now, you must pick one, and say goodbye to the others for the moment. In the interest of getting unstuck and moving forward, this painful thing must happen.”

Say yes to one and no to the others. That is how I will move forward.

So I did it.

And now, I feel myself becoming a little less stuck. Sad and happy and a bit more mobile.

Addendum: I did something else this week to get unstuck too. It worked incredibly well for me, so I wanted to share. I made a contract with myself that I would donate $100 to a political candidate I absolutely abhor, at the end of the week, if I had not made objective progress in at least three different areas. This distaste of having to make that donation was enough to motivate me to make some hard decisions and get to work. I am happy to say I am NOT donating $100 to my least favorite political candidate. Hooray!