Dawn and I continue in our quest to simplify our already uncomplicated lives. One of the ways we do that is to identify and eliminate Tolerations wherever we find them. It’s a valuable tool in designing, creating and living our best life. And it’s an ongoing and never-ending process—a way to go from good, to great, to exceptional.
A good way to describe Toleration Elimination is smoothing the rough edges in one’s life. It may not look or seem all that consequential but it is. Because small things aggregate. What we tolerate siphons off our energy, focus and accomplishment.
Back to what we eliminated . . .
We live in a VERY quiet neighborhood. And we really appreciate that. But as good as it is, I started to look for noise pollution as a Toleration.
In the past few years, the number of nuisance phone calls we receive has escalated substantially. You may have experienced this as well. We only answer calls coming from people we know, but the phone still jangled with most calls being spam.
So we simply shut off the phone. It now goes straight to voice mail. No phone ringing and no listening to the answering machine. I get an email when a voice mail is left with a transcript and who called. We can then decide who to call back and when.
Noise pollution and the interruptions eliminated. If someone needs to reach us urgently, they have our cell numbers. We get some spam on our cells, but not many.
Here’s another Toleration we handled with multiple benefits.
Our A/C system was 12 years old and had been problematic since we moved in. It didn’t seem old enough to replace, but the number of service calls and the costs involved were less than ideal. And of course it always seemed to break down when we needed heat or cooling the most.
In addition, the blower was a single speed motor that went from zero to 100% when it came on. It was noisy and as much as we had adjusted to it, it was still a distraction and once labeled as such—a Toleration.
After one more A/C component failure, we decided to replace rather than repair. The new system will pay for itself in less than 5 years just in energy savings. Plus, it’s got a 10-year warranty and it’s SUPER QUIET.
So, a more reliable system, cheaper to operate and quieter. All wins. All contributing to peace of mind, simplicity and smooth running.
I share this with you as an example and hopefully as an inspiration for you to look even more deeply than you might have to discover things you may be tolerating. Because yo
u truly do find what you are looking for. And thankfully, most of them don’t cost thousands of dollars to fix.
The Secret to Being Fiercely Focused is a short book on the science of Toleration Eradication. It’s all about having more energy, less stress and getting more done by tackling your tolerations. If you have not read it, I urge you to do so. It will definitely help you to up-level the quality of your life. I promise.
