Happiness through “Taking What You Need”

In regards to the saying, “Taking what you need and leaving the rest behind,” Gina Laverde states that you realize that you can’t do everything and be everything to everyone, you’re not going to make everyone happy, and you need to take care of yourself first before you worry about others.  Another approach to the statement “Take what you need and leave the rest” is by using all of your senses in every situation, no matter how undesirable and you can usually find something useful.

Have you ever heard the saying “Take what you need and leave the rest behind?”

If so, what does it mean to you?

Mind Petals has a great post on this very topic. Gina Laverde suggests that learning to take what you need simply means that you can’t be everything to everyone, and that you must take care of yourself first if you want to do or be anything at all.

Great advice. Gina offers the following suggestions for taking care of yourself:

“So, how do you start taking what you need? Well, you sit down quietly with yourself and you make a list of ways that you can be happier and more efficient. And, then you immediately begin applying these principles to your life. That’s it. There can be no fear or hesitation involved (and, if there is – ignore it). If you want your way, you need to take action.”

There’s another meaning to the phrase Take what you need and leave the rest, and it’s just as important as the one mentioned above. In some ways it’s the opposite of, and counter-intuitive to, what I’ve discussed.

It tells me simply to walk into any situation without any false expectations, stereotypes, and/or preconceived notions.

Whether I’m reading the news or a blog post on line, meeting someone for the first time, sitting in on a meeting that I don’t really want to be in, reading a book, or standing in line at the supermarket, if I simply listen - with all of my senses - to what’s going on around me, and I’m open, approachable, receptive, interested, and engaged, I’m certain to find something that I can take away from that experience, from being in that moment.

Once I’ve practiced these things for a while, I’ll start “seeing” good and useful things more frequently, so much so that they’ll far outweigh the things that I’ll simply leave behind without a second thought - those things that I previously used to dwell on and that I utilized to define entire relationships and experiences.

This latter interpretation has helped me not only to become more tolerant, but also to meet new people with distinctly diverse interests, open my mind to entirely new ways at looking at things, and unleash new avenues of creativity and growth from deep within myself.

Please let me know of your experiences with taking what you need and leaving the rest behind.

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