Pulling the weeds out of life

One of the chores I have little patience for is weeding my property. 

However, with the early warmer weather and abundant sunshine, the weeds on my property have already begun showing up. Ugh.

So last weekend, my son and I each took one side of the property and began the tedious task of clearing out those unwanted plants. We battled the weeds with the small stickers and thorns, then wrestled the ones with the deeper or stronger roots to minimize the chance that they would show up again later in the year.

As I was uprooting these villains of my lawn and rock bed, I couldn’t help but think about the unwanted "weeds" I need to clear out from my own attitude, behaviors, and performance.

More than anything, I realized I need to do more than just pick them out at the surface, but make sure I was getting at the roots so I would be able to prepare for new and healthy feelings, activities, and results.

Have you weeded the garden, lawn, or rock bed of your own heart and mind lately, getting rid of all those habits and beliefs that are holding you back from being who you want to be and what you want to achieve? I mean, really getting in there and digging up the roots, then tossing the whole thing into the trash?

You see, the unwanted plants in our yard grow and flourish when left unattended.  They overtake the beauty of our grass, other flowers, plants, and shrubs. It works the same way with those unwanted feelings, attitudes, and patterns in our lives.  If left unattended, a bad thought or habit can quickly take root, grow and become the negative focal point of our lives. If we don’t look after them and clear them out, they can literally consume us and overtake the beauty of everything else in our life.

Have you ever driven or walked by a neighbor’s property in total amazement of just how manicured and lovely the grounds looked?  It becomes obvious that the person caring for the property takes exceptional care in keeping the bad vegetation or weeds out, while nurturing the plants that they want to keep.  In some cases, I have even found myself wishing my own lawn or property could look that good.

Remember: We are the groundskeepers of our mind, body, and spirit. It is up to us to survey our hearts and minds and see which areas need weeding, and maybe even some deep excavation. 

Just like those beautiful properties we walk by, the upkeep and maintenance play a huge role.  It is easy to spend some time clearing out the unwanted things, but it takes commitment to doing the daily and weekly maintenance to make sure the weeds don’t come back and overtake all of the beautiful opportunities that are ahead of us.

Like me, you probably have an aversion to the work involved in pulling weeds, but love the end result. I look forward to hearing about your plan to nurture the gardens of your life at gotonorton@gmail.com. 

There is a better than good week waiting for you, just clear out the weeds.

Michael Norton, a Highlands Ranch resident, is the CEO and founder of www.candogo.com