Are Tolerations Holding You Back?

I don’t know if it’s because of the new decade or what, but I am totally focused on handling tolerations these days.

Tolerations are things we put up with that drain our energy, hold us back and cause us frustration, anxiety and stress.

A toleration can be huge… like living in a cramped apartment in an undesirable neighborhood. Or it can be little and seemingly insignificant, like having a burnt out lightbulb in your coat closet.

Some tolerations – like the burnt out lightbulb – can be addressed quickly and easily. Handling others can require a significant investment of time, energy and money – such as finding, and being able to afford, a new and better place to live.

The thing that all tolerations have in common is that when you handle them you feel really good!

I first learned about the concept of identifying and addressing tolerations when I did my initial coach training with Coach U .

Coach U (and Coachville) were founded by the late Thomas Leonard. It’s hard to believe that yesterday was the 7 year anniversary of his death.

On a more upbeat note, I think it’s awesome that Dave Buck and Andrea Lee are honoring Thomas, his legacy and keeping his work alive. Get dialed in at: www.bestofthomas.com.

As I’ve been addressing tolerations – big and small – I have found myself remembering some of the key coaching points around handling tolerations:

1. Make a list of every toleration that you can think of. Don’t worry if some of them seem “impossible” to handle. In order to address them, you first need to acknowledge them, and the best way to do that is by writing them down.
2. Prioritize your list and “Focus on Five” at any one time in order to avoid overwhelm and fast-track your results.
3. Include big and small tolerations when you “Focus on Five.” This is especially important if you are taking on a big toleration (such as leaving an unfulfilling job to coach full time) that might take some time to address. Set yourself up to enjoy feelings of success and accomplishment by including a few tolerations that are relatively quick and easy to handle (ie: scheduling that overdue dental appointment, sewing the button back on your favorite shirt or organizing the pile of papers in the corner of your office).
4. Address the source. As great as it feels to deal with something we’ve been putting up with (ie: getting your taxes done right before the deadline). It’s ten times better to put systems in place so that when tax time rolls around, all you need to do is run a few reports and pull together some paperwork.
5. Have patience. This is critical if you are handling big tolerations!

In memory of Thomas Leonard…

Here’s to handling tolerations and moving a step closer to living a Toleration Free Life!