Have you ever heard of, or read the book, Five Wishes by Gay Hendricks? I first read it a couple of years ago and I just re-read it last week. I pulled it off my shelf because I remembered that Gay talked a lot about the power of completion…a topic that came up with a few of my private clients. Gay points out that we consume so much of our personal power and energy just by leaving things unfinished, unsaid and incomplete. In his quest to tie up loose ends he made a list of all the things that he had left unfinished and then he divided his list into 4 categories:
Unspoken Truths: Significant things he had withheld from significant people in his life,
Broken Agreements: Promises he had made and hadn’t kept,
People he appreciated and loved but never told and
Money he owed.
When I made my list I also added unfinished projects, and any other unfinished business I sensed was draining my energy, distracting me or that I felt was out of integrity with the highest version of my Self.
He talked about how long his list was…my list was long too. He pointed out that the list was daunting…and I agreed. But then he mentioned this amazing thing that happens when you just get started.
He said, “I was soon to discover something remarkable about the act of making completions: each one you take care of gives you a fresh burst of energy.” He suggests you start with the “big” incompletions, the ones you feel most resistant to doing. This will make the small ones feel even easier.
We all have a massive to do list floating around in our heads, or maybe you have a long list written out somewhere. We can’t help but feel depleted by the unfinished projects, the half baked ideas, the phone calls we said we would make…but haven’t, these are all the incompletions that clutter our minds and make us feel frustrated and overwhelmed. Or worse, they often make us feel out of integrity, undeserving, unworthy or unlovable. Holding the energy of all the things we said we would do, but never did, is toxic. You have the power to free yourself of the heavy burden of promises broken to yourself and others. You can do this for yourself. And trust me…you will be amazed by the power you tap into when you just get started.
Here are a few ideas to get you going:
-Make a list of all the unfinished business and incompletions you can think of that have vexed you throughout your life. No need to go into shame or judgement as you do this…the important thing is that you are CHOOSING to take action NOW to make things “right.” (Gay said his list was over 12 pages! I can’t remember how long my list was…but it was long too!)
-If you would like to categorize them, choose your categories and organize your list.
-Decide if you would like to start with an “easy, quick” incompletion or a “big” one. (Gay started with the hard ones…I started with the ones I knew I could do immediately, like NOW because I love crossing things off the list and I knew I could knock several things off my list in the first few minutes. I made phone calls, sorted though some piles of paper I had been avoiding, etc.)
-Go For It!
-Notice how you feel when you take responsibility for your incompletions, empower yourself and take ACTION : )
As Gay said, “the act of completing something, no matter how large or how small, puts you into harmony with the universe.”
At Soul level you are at harmony with the universe. The act of completion allows you to FEEL that harmony and EMBODY that harmony. And when we embody more of Who We really Are in our Soul’s miracles happen.
Try it and see for yourself! And let me know what you discover in the comments below : )
To Your Divinity!
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