There was an edge to my voice as I asked the question: "And
so why haven't you finished what you promised to do?"
I meant for it to come out nicer, more reasonable. But, it
didn't.
This is so often where we land, kerthunk, in business: are
you getting it done, or aren't you? In the western world,
we call this 'productivity' and we think it's a good thing.
Even if we complain about it, or hold spiritual values that
say otherwise, I find that my clients (and me... ) orient
around this question.
Are you getting it done? Are you being productive enough?
And did you realize that your desire for productivity is
contributing to global warming, debt, and business struggle?
The problem isn't productivity... it's capacity.
What is 'capacity'? Capacity is, simply put, the quantity
something can contain. How much water a glass holds (oh,
about a dram or two), how many people can fit around a
Passover table (24! What? Aunt Joan brought six cousins
with her? No problem!)...
How many things can you get done in a day, week, year?
The idea of abundance is very alluring- there's plenty!
There's plenty to go around, there's plenty for everyone,
there's no reason you can't do it/have it all.
Unfortunately, this runs smack into a very troubling
spiritual teaching.
The physical world is a limited place. There is an
unlimited amount of love, mercy, and peace available. There
is, however, a limited amount of fresh water, fossil fuels,
and arable land for growing food. There is an unlimited
amount of creativity and connection. There is, despite our
best efforts, a limited number of seats at the table (we'll
have to find an extra table for those six cousins...)
In the Sufi take on the creation story, Source is described
as 'veiling' itself, in order to create the physical world.
The physical, 3D, dirt and grass reality we live in is
distanced from Source, because otherwise we'd all be
dissolved into Oneness, with no individuality discernable
at all.
The things that are unlimited are the things that are less
'distant' from Source, and thus are without physical form:
love, compassion, mercy, creativity, etc...
Surrender to the fact that you have limited capacity. One
of the first groups I ever ran, before Heart of Business
even existed, was a six-week "Success" group. Every week,
people would write down their goals and tasks for the next
week. And every week we'd come back to find that everyone,
everyone, without fail was leaving about 50% unfinished.
The issue wasn't productivity: the issue was capacity. They
were all overestimating their capacity by about 100%- they
thought they could do twice as much as they actually could.
It's this inability to judge our capacity that leads to
debt: you spend more than you have. It also leads to global
warming, which is also a kind of debt, in that we are
spending more energy, from other sources, than we have in
ourselves.
It also leads to business struggle- trying to do more than
you really can, means you end up exhausted, cranky, and
feeling like a failure.
This was a profound insight for me, when I realized that
what was making my life so crowded, was also what was
maxing our credit cards at the time, and was also
contributing to the ravaging of the planet.
Just accepting one's true capacity is a big step towards
contributing to healing our families, our communities, and
the world. And yet, and yet...
Is that it? Give up on your ambitions and your goals? Play
small? Or is there way to deal with your capacity and still
grow your business?
Keys to Business Capacity • Get honest.
How many times in the last days, weeks, or months have you
said: "I meant to get it done... why isn't it done yet?"
That's a clue that you are way overestimating your capacity.
It's okay. Take a deep breath, be gentle with yourself, and
realize you haven't done anything wrong. You're caught up
in a culture that makes routine overestimating capacity and
living on credit.
Admit to yourself: "I'm way over capacity. It's literally
impossible to do all of this."
• Clear cut.
Clear cutting is a miserable thing to do to a forest, but
it's fine thing to do to with a to-do list.
This is the challenge: make a list of everything you are
trying to get done in the next week, and erase half. Yes, a
full half. Do it right now. Get a piece of paper, do a
brain dump of the 12-25 things on your plate.
Now, cross off half of them. I know it's rough, but it's
going to happen anyway. Better that you choose, rather than
you simply run out of time.
• Notice what's really important.
There are some things that are more urgent, and some things
that aren't. There are some items that help you feel alive
and well, and some that don't.
When you realize what your capacity really is, it becomes
easier to say "no" to things that just don't fit, and
easier to say "yes" to the things that are important in
your life.
There's tons of other things that go here: having the right
tools (like a larger computer monitor, or the right pruning
sheers in the garden), having an office that is set up
efficiently, getting regular exercise, etc.
That's all good stuff, but the foundation of it all, I've
discovered, is to really face the reality of your capacity.
As you settle into the truth of what's possible in this
finite world of ours, I bet you'll discover a lot more of
the limitless abundance of love and peace and compassion in
your heart.
And with more of that love, we'll have more time and
capacity to make this world a much more wonderful place.
----------------------------------------------------
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your
Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your
Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line.
He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the
globe succeed in business without lousing their hearts. Get
three free chapters of the book online:
http://www.heartofbusiness.com
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