The Plate Spinner

Many of you are too young to remember the Ed Sullivan Show, but maybe you have been on a cruise. If so you may have seen a plate spinner perform during a variety show. Plate spinners run from stick to stick in order to keep all the plates spinning at the top of the sticks. Keeping everything up in the air at once is their goal. Does that sound familiar in any way? Do you sometimes feel like you are doing the same thing? If so you just may be a plate spinner yourself. Maybe you are rushing around to keep the family, a job and a home to your liking. I have been there and the frenetic pace wears you out. And like the plate spinner on the stage, you do your best to look cool and calm through it all. Even when you accomplish this goal of multitasking at the highest level, you and your family may be paying a price.

Yes, over the years I have definitely been a plate spinner at times. I have also learned that I do not choose to live that way on a day to day basis. I also choose to help others learn the lesson of the plate spinner. In my workshops and retreats, I often enlarge the drawing of the plate spinner and ask the participants to name the plates they are spinning. Try this yourself. Some will be people and some will be a job or family responsibilities.

What I have found is that almost everyone can identify a few plates that could be allowed to fall without terrible consequences. Once the plates are identified, it is up to the person to decide when and how to withdraw from certain time commitments. It feels like lifting a weight off of your shoulders. Each one gives you another level of freedom. The last time I did this exercise, I took a break from a non profit board I had been serving on and also gave up two newsletters I was doing for different organizations. This freed me to proceed with the completion of the more necessary tasks. It will work for you, too.

If it is a person who is taking too much of your time and energy, you may find you cannot just drop them. They may even be family members. It may come down to seeking help to deal with a situation or limiting the time you spend with a person who pulls you down. A wonderful woman in my church when I was 22 years old gave me great advice. If there is someone you need to spend time with and the relationship is not always easy, try this. Grace told me to pray for the person, because it is difficult to resent someone while you are praying for them. It did help me. Sometimes a friend will be threatened by your success and discourage you whenever possible.

Take time to study your plates and then do some thinking about the right ones to drop.