A Nature-Inspired Practice To Reduce Overwhelm & Speed Up Self-Growth

Saying yes to anything means saying no to something else. In order to grow anything, we must also be willing to prune. The act of clipping away at something with confidence takes practice, so a sense of unease is natural. However, it's important to embrace that feeling while also being excited about what lies ahead.

Just as your garden and houseplants require pruning in order to thrive, the same goes for the parts of your life that aren't growing with you. To prune is to gain the opportunity for something to reach its full potential. Sure, it can be scary to face the unknown and unfamiliar, but it can also be dramatic and exhilarating.

Take a moment to visualize a period in your life when something you had come to rely on was taken from you; perhaps you lost a job, a relationship ended, or you had to move out of a home you loved. Consider how this absence required you to adapt and grow stronger.

Consider the annual practice of winemakers who clip back nearly all the new growth from the previous year. Completely trimming off what had just grown feels counterintuitive, but it's an important step and is key to the success of the next season's harvest.

This practice results in fewer grapes, but ideally, those that do grow are of higher quality. Without pruning, the bushes would yield more grapes—thus, more wine. But in this surplus, the quality can suffer.

Try to relate this to your own life. Having a surplus doesn't always correlate to having what you actually want and need. If cutting back is necessary, the natural world offers inspiration and reassurance as you begin a spirited season of pruning. This can mean letting go of commitments, projects, or opportunities, even some you enjoy, to make room to restore your energy. Healthy pruning can also mean allocating less time to people or situations that aren't growing with you.

As you consider pruning, tune in to the timing. If you prune too late, you'll be reacting after the fact and not performing a forward-thinking act. Pruning demands the willingness to be forthright, making choices before you can see the results. When you understand a yellowing leaf is weighing down the plant's potential, you can start to see the yellow leaves in your own life.

Envision being willing to prune for progress. This requires you to really trust your gut, welcoming in selectiveness, choosing yourself, and pruning away what doesn't help you to grow. Cutting off new growth or timely endings in nature is necessary. It may not feel right, but the benefits grow bigger with time.

Breathe in, pause, and breathe out. Bring to mind a large potted plant with notable new growth.

The plant is mostly a healthy shade of hunter green. Yet you spot some parts that look worn and discolored.

Center your attention on two leaves that have transitioned to yellow-green and will soon fade away.

These leaves have entered a captivating stage of beauty, and letting them go feels harsh, but you must prune to protect.

When the yellowed leaves are gone, the plant will direct its nutrients to the green, healthy leaves.

With a reassuring breath in and out, visualize taking up shearing scissors and giving the withering leaves a chop.

By pruning, you release what pulls on the plant's potential. You support its well-being and longevity.

Allow the image of clipping away the tired leaves to remind you of similar leaves in your own life. Maybe something feels heavy and burdensome. Maybe it doesn't align with your purpose and passions.

There can be parts of your life that do not serve the growth, vitality, and harmony of your whole being. Imagine cutting back what doesn't help you grow.

Notice how caring for a plant, taking the time to protectively prune, shows you ways to better care for yourself.

Completely pruning away all progress, all new growth, is not usually necessary. Cutting back small portions can yield big results.

Look at your own life, focusing on the main categories of home, family, profession, lifestyle, and goals. What could use some intense pruning to grow your happiness? What areas could use only minor clipping?

This week, take at least one active step to start pruning what needs to go. Consider selecting a small personal or professional commitment that you can let go of to make more room for your new growth.