“All motion is cyclic. It circulates to the limits of its possibilities and then returns to its starting point.” ~ Robert Collier
Last week Dailygood ran a piece about letting go of certain possibilities. I thought about that idea all day. I felt not that I didn’t have enough options but that I had too many options, too many interests, too many opportunities that in my mind were all good. One part of me felt extraordinarily lucky to be blessed with so many choices and the other part felt overwhelmed. I felt pulled in so many directions, a situation that I created.
I realized that once again it was priority-making time. The older I get, the more often my life seems to need a wringing out. I find that I increasingly need more idle time to let ideas marinate, and to create that idle time I have to let some possibilities pass by, despite their potential.
There are some things I will have to stop doing. So here’s what I’ve decided to close:
1.) In mid-March, I’m going to stop renting at Pearl Studios in favor of another yoga teaching opportunity that has come about. (More on that when the opportunity takes flight in mid-March.)
2.) In addition to this blog, I’m focusing only on one independent writing project – my book about yoga and personal finance. I’ve laid out a writing schedule to get it finished by October. I’m also pursuing several writing opportunities with other outlets in an effort to expand my reach, and my content on this blog is going to be syndicated by another site. (More on that in a later post.)
3.) I’ve decided to only date guys that truly have long-term potential. If it’s just a “fun while it lasts” situation, then I need to sideline that in a hurry.
4.) I’m going to stop trying to think of ways to make my day job the perfect job. There are aspects of my job that I find really fascinating (mobile technology) and aspects of it that hold absolutely no interest for me (politics, jockeying for funding and influence). Eventually, I know that I will move on from this job to something that focuses more on where my personal interests truly lie. I stopped worrying about what that opportunity will be, having confidence that when the time is right, that new opportunity will present itself through my own hard work. I felt a tremendous amount of freedom when all of a sudden I stopped viewing my current role as the end destination. The daily grind I felt there has been put to rest.
How about you? Are there things that you’re going to stop doing in an effort to make more room in your life? Can you find freedom in letting go?
This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
“All motion is cyclic. It circulates to the limits of its possibilities and then returns to its starting point.” ~ Robert Collier
Christa Avampato 
I can always find something to let go to make me more free. The hardest one is “the past”. Once a person decides to let the negative part of the past be in the past, they will never truly be free. Its the hardest thing to do. Once you let it go, whatever it is that either haunts you or drags you back, its a great feeling…Good luck with all that you do, you are a remarkable person
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That is so true! The past is really a difficult thing to leave truly in the past. I read a wonderful Cherokee Proverb yesterday that states “Don’t let too much of yesterday steal today.” We rehash our past over and over, missing out on the here and now. Thank you for the thoughtful comment and encouragement!
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You are wise beyond your years! It seems that we have been conditioned to believe that we can have it all and have it all right now. That is a lie perpetuated by people who don’t really want us to have anything at all.
The truth is, you can’t have it all. Nor should you want it all because much of it isn’t that satisfying or fulfilling. Focusing on what you are called to do and gifted to do is at the heart of living at peace and working at things with lasting value. I applaud your discernment and discipline.
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Such a good point, Lisa. We can’t have it all, all the time, and actually we don’t even want all of it to begin with! Focus eases our anxiety and there’s so much power to be found in letting go of what no longer serves us and our dreams.
Here’s to pitching what doesn’t excite us in favor of pursuing our passions!
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