Obligation and choice are direct opposites in terms of energies. Do you find yourself exhausted on a daily or weekly basis because you have too many obligations, each draining your time and energy? Learn to gain control over your time and your energy. Listening to your spirit guides is a great place to start.
The Energies of Obligation and Choice
The energy of obligation comes from not honoring and valuing your time and value.
Do you ever wonder why your to do list keeps growing, no matter how many things you are able to cross off the list?
Obligation is a requirement, real or imagined, to take some course of action. Have you gotten yourself into situations where others depend on you, and you now feel that you are obligated to help in some way?
What Builds Obligation?
Burnout is the result of not honoring yourself and ignoring your own basic needs. You may feel like you have to keep giving and giving to others. This includes friends and family, keeping up a home, keeping up with a career, and any other general day to day activities.
Volunteering is another area that builds obligation. I know about this firsthand. Please let me say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with volunteering to a group or organization that you believe in. In fact, I really recommend it, if you have the time and energy to put towards it. But what I have seen is that the ones that already have too much on their plate are usually the ones also volunteering.
How do you know you are doing too much? Resentment and guilt are great indicators that you have too much going on and that your life needs more balance. If you find yourself resentful of something you volunteered for or guilty that you will disappoint others if you let it go, chances are good that you have too much going on.
If the thought of giving up an obligation brings a sense of relief to you, it is time to let it go. It is different for everyone, but listen to your heart and you will be able to discern what needs to be cleared out of your life.
Your Own Choices
So how do you get out of some of the obligations you have? I think it is time for a list. Find a piece of paper and write down each and every one of the obligations you have on a daily or weekly basis. Choose three from the list that you can easily let go.
Now, take action and make that happen. Once you have really gotten rid of those three obligations, make sure to acknowledge it and celebrate in some small way. Honor yourself and your choices. Reflect back on what was gained by letting the obligation go. Perhaps you got back your time, energy, or sanity.
In my next post I will fill you in on one of my obligations that I have let go. Stay tuned…it is pretty big for my life.
What about you? Are you someone who has too much on their plate and would love to let go of some of your obligations? I would love to hear your thoughts below.
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Laura,
Great post. We sure do take on a lot, don’t we? I think some of us are so busy that we don’t truly experience our lives. We aren’t really living – just doing, doing and more doing.
Hi Angela,
I can so relate to the doing and more doing. Days and weeks go by and you wonder what happened to the month. Many activities that you may have once enjoyed seem to lose their zest and appeal. A lot of that in my life will be changing shortly, and it will be such a relief.
Hi Laura,
One other thing about having less obligations and more free time will cause others who have too many obligations to resent us.
I prefer to live a simple life myself but there are no shortages of people wanting something from us.
Setting some boundaries would be another great place to start.
Hi Justin,
You are so correct about setting boundaries. I keep learning as I go. Those that do take on too many obligations seem to think that someone who has set boundaries for themselves is just being lazy or unwilling to help. They don’t view it as a measure of self protection of their energy.