Know When to Expand and When to Contract
Everything in nature naturally expands and contracts. Ocean waves go in and out, the tides rise and lower, trees become full with leaves and then shed them, flowers open and close their petals. Even birth itself requires contractions. And yet, as humans seeking to live productive lives we often strive for infinite expansion. We always want more, not less. The more money, praise, and status we can achieve and the more activities and events we fill our lives with, the more successful, and therefore fulfilled, we will be.
But at what cost does this constant expansion come and is there a place and time for its antipode?
My last year was about expansion. (My previous two were transformation and consolidation and expansion naturally came next.) I grew and tried new things and said, “yes, yes, and yes.” I accepted every work venture that came my way, I grew, I learned a lot, and I ended the year completely overextended and spent.
“Everything in nature naturally expands and contracts. Ocean waves go in and out, the tides rise and lower, trees become full with leaves and then shed them, flowers open and close their petals. Even birth itself requires contractions.”
This year I am prioritizing expansion’s converse, or perhaps its other half is a more accurate description–contraction. I am saying “no” more so that I can say “yes” to more of what truly matters to me. I am becoming smaller so that I can remove superfluity from my life, so that I can strip down to the core of who I am and what I want. By contracting, I can intentionally decide what fits in my life and what doesn’t, I have permission to do less and be less productive, and, in doing so, I can become more fulfilled.
Ask yourself:
Is this a time to prioritize expansion or contraction?
If I am seeking to expand:
How can I grow?
What can I say “yes” to?
Where and how can I seek new opportunities?
What can I add to my life that will bring fulfillment?
Who can help facilitate my expansion?
What do I want to achieve from this time?
If I am seeing to contract:
What can I let go of?
What can I say “no” to?
How can I slow down?
What are my required priorities versus the obligations I can release?
Who can help facilitate my contraction?
What do I want to achieve from this time?
The Takeaway
Expansion and contraction are both necessary for growth. Spending too much time in one cycle ultimately limits us. Constantly seeking more is exhausting and can lead to burnout, while always becoming less robs us of our full potential.
Embrace the fluidity of life, imagining yourself as an ocean wave effortlessly washing in and out of the shore, expanding and contracting, moving forward and back, both stages part of one wave–both a part of you. Look inward and ask yourself what phase you are in and what phase you need right now and then accept that answer without judgment, argument or critique. Both are equally valuable, and beautiful, parts of a meaningful life.