AWC Detroit member and PR professional Karen Couf-Cohen interviews author Colleen Kilpatrick

Eliminate What You Tolerate

The question has to be addressed.

Why would anyone put up with annoying little things in their lives, when seemingly, they could so easily be handled and checked off our to-do lists?

Colleen Kilpatrick helped an enthusiastic audience understand why we procrastinate and continue to endure “tolerations” in our lives. Why is it that we don’t just sit down and sew that hanging button, or throw out the unnecessary stuff in the basement or the garage?

Sometimes it’s the perception of how much time or money it will take to fix something, or that we feel sentimental about the stuff that needs to be tossed. Sometimes we just feel overwhelmed and suffer from “priority paralysis.”

Truth is that tolerations sap our energy as we worry about them while they hang over our heads. Colleen’s book, “Eliminate What You Tolerate” offers practical suggestions to help identify them in our lives and power through their elimination.

Start small. One drawer or closet at a time. Feel the victory. The dopamine rush will seduce you to do more.

Kilpatrick reminded the audience that we are the curators of our lives, so when we get rid of the baggage, we discover the beauty of the pluses and minuses of life. This joyful feeling is the fuel that will free up energy to do the things we love instead of agonizing over the monkeys on our backs.