It’s hard to consider how to change the world when there’s so much in our own world that gets in our way. We all have things around us that just “bug” us because we haven’t taken care of them.

Those things that bug you (TTBYs) are anything in your environment that drain your energy – something that you’re putting up with. One example would be a coat that is missing a button…every time you wear it, you say to yourself, “Oh rats (insert your own personal expletive here), I need to fix that button!”  And every time you have that thought, it reminds you of a mini-failure, which drains your energy and reduces your self-esteem!

Another example is the dreaded bunch of file boxes that you are “going to get to someday.” Every time you see those boxes, you think, “yuck, I need to get rid of those!”

So a TTBY is anything that drains your energy…anything that is broken or messy, or perhaps something important that is missing.  When you have TTBYs, you are not able to be your most powerful self.

Ready for to move forward and change the world? It’s helpful to look at why you are tolerating the TTBYs – are they serving you in some way?

• TTBYs keep us slowed down (and sometimes when we aren’t clear about our purpose, we slow ourselves down on purpose.)
• TTBYs keep us playing small (and sometimes we have an unconscious inner conflict about playing BIG.)
• TTBYs keep us in our comfort zone (we are way too busy dealing with little things instead of being all we can be in the world.)

There are several ways to ZAP a TTBY. (This is not rocket science, but worth a look!)

• Fix something broken (put a button on the coat or drop the coat off at the drycleaner’s and ask them to put a button on the coat!)
• Call someone you said you would call but didn’t.
• Clean up a mess (physical or conceptual) – e.g., Clean the closet, Talk to your co-worker about that thing that happened
• Put in something that is missing – e.g., Get the new coffeemaker; Get a new business contact

Dream Big Challenge:

Make a list of 3 TTBYs to ZAP this week and, if you’re brave, post them in the comments!