LIFE, SIMPLIFIED

In my early career, I was a teacher. I was not just a teacher, but also a coach.  The two jobs have lots of similarities, but one of the main differences is that a coach usually has the added responsibility of selecting the team.  The coach decides who will make the cut.  Which players will make the roster. If there is more space available than there are players, then the job is simple…keep them all. Everybody makes the team. But when there are more players than space, the job gets more difficult. Because players must be selected and cuts must be made…

As it relates to the business of Me, I am the CEO and CFO of my organization and I am also the Coach of all of my teams. I am Sarge Marge In Charge.  I know what you are thinking…I am a lot to take on, but I am Wynette. I am Wynette the Wahls Warrior Wonder Woman. See me multitask.

When I first became a Wahls Warrior, top on the list was to revamp my food team.  I cut some long time superstars. Diet Coke and Microwave Popcorn and all of their processed buddies got their walking papers. Grains were replaced. Dairy didn’t get renewed. Sugar, retired. They, along with the legumes and a few other former favorites had to go. They were hurting the organization. Destroying the team. They were replaced with a new organic lineup featuring Veggies, Fruits, Meats, and Healthy Fats along with a few assorted players like fermented foods, nuts and seeds, and such to round out the roster.  The first month or so was a bit rocky.  It took a while to get used to the new style of play. But slowly, salad by salad, the team started to gel. And now, it is an amazing team. A championship team.

Next, I reevaluated my products team. I traded in almost all of my existing players and replaced them. Shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, cleaning products, you name it.  The team was pretty much rebuilt from the ground up. I’ve made some additional roster adjustments along the way, and some of the players have taken a while to get comfortable with their roles. I am still figuring out how and when to best utilize their skills, but as time goes on, we are improving our chemistry.

So, now is the next big rebuilding phase for my organization. A huge shift. My entire organization is making a move to a new location. The new place is less than 2 miles from the old, so geographically, not much different. But, we have moved from house to condo, bigger to smaller, 2 levels to 1, garage to covered parking, yard to patio. And there is less. A lot less… We have way less storage space and  less space to spread out. Less privacy, and less room for guests.  We also have less maintenance and repair, fewer toilets to clean, less vacuuming to do, less furniture to dust, fewer windows to wash, no weeds to pull, and far fewer bills to pay. Less stress. And because we have less, there will be more.  More money, more time, more freedom.

When going from bigger to smaller, from garage to no garage, there is inevitably less space. Fewer roster spots. It becomes much harder to make the team.  As the Head Coach of the team, it is my job to assess the players. To assess the items in our lives and determine their value.  Determine whether or not we will choose to continue to share our space with them. Whether or not they will make the team.  And when the players are numerous but the space is limited, when the roster will need to be cut in half, the decisions can be difficult. The cuts can be brutal. 

I have 2 assistant coaches but neither is of much use for the selection process.  My daughter doesn't want any cuts to be made at all, my son would do a hack job until nothing remained. I had 3 pizza cutters ( Yes, I had 3 pizza cutters. Don't judge). One a bit rusted and clearly ready to go, a second small but functional one and the third an over-sized one, also functional.  Here is how it would go.  My daughter would insist on keeping all 3.  The small one as a backup to the large one or vice-versa, just in case, and the rusty one for posterity. "Mom, we can't get rid of that one because I think it might be the one you used to cut the pizza at my 10th birthday party and I will never turn 10 again. Ever.”  My Son would get rid of all three.  His logic would be something along the lines of "We are having tacos for dinner tonight.  Why would we need a pizza cutter?"  And so, other than a bit of input, making the cuts is mainly my job alone. A solo operation.

And so our stuff has been cut in half.  More than half actually, because a lot of stuff lived in the garage.  In the just in case place.  You never know when you might need an extra set of pots and pans or 2 or 3 extra coffee makers, so it's good to have all of that extra stuff around. Just in case.  The first round of cuts was easy.  There were the definite keepers and the definite dead weight.  Vitamix, dehydrators, pressure cooker and my other kitchen gadget loves, all keepers.  Photo albums and old home movies.  Of course.  Anything broken, not functioning properly, stained or ripped, thanks for the memories but your playing days have ended.  Then the decisions became harder.  2 working pizza slicers.  Hmmm.  The tool itself is useful above and beyond the occasional slicing of the pizza, so keeping one is justified, but, only one...there is only room for one on the team.  Small one it is...takes up less space. Next item.  And so it continued, room by room, cupboard by cupboard, drawer by drawer.  And now it is done.  The team has been selected. The cuts have been made.  There was some early shuffling. A chair that was an early favorite, later replaced by one that turned out to be a better fit. More of a team player. An additional elimination of clothes when the closet capacity was reached. Additional cuts.  And now, our team is set and we know all of the players.  They have each been hand selected and each has a role. A purpose.  We have surrounded ourselves with only those things that we really need and value. Life, Simplified.

Most teams have a yearly selection process.  A reevaluation. A chance to remove those parts that are no longer benefiting the team. A chance to make changes and bring in new additions.  I like that.  April is a month of Anniversaries for me. Life changing Anniversaries. Some happy, some sad, but all life changing. Anniversaries that shape me…make me who I am today.  Because of that, I think I will take time during my April Anniversary month each year and do some spring cleaning.  I will take the month of April to do an annual assessment of the teams within my organization.  The Annual April Anniversary Assessment. Some years, the teams may remain the same, and that’s great. But I know for sure, that sometimes, there will be stuff. Stuff that is no longer needed or used.  Stuff that is working against the team rather than for it.  Stuff that has already been replaced, but is still hanging around and taking up space.  And there will be cuts to be made.  But often, every now and then, less is more.

Namaste!