Pruning Season

Pruning Season

To be clear, I know virtually nothing about gardening. I have a rudimentary understanding of how to trim a rosebush and I can mow the lawn like nobody’s business, but that is pretty much where my horticultural knowledge ends. So if you came here for gardening tips, sorry to disappoint you.

I have been noticing my neighbours trimming some of their trees and bushes in preparation for spring when the new season of growth kicks in. Alongside that I’ve been involved in a couple of conversations over the past week about the importance of pruning, not in the garden, but in our lives. The purpose of pruning is to clear out the dead wood, the “wasted growth” and all those aspects that keep the plant from producing the highest quality shape, health, fruit or flowers. This feels very similar to life and business…

Very often the notion in life is that our “best” lives will come from adding more to it: more activity, more busy, more stuff, more output, more, more, more. That might be working for you and if so, I’m sincerely happy for you. But that doesn’t seem to be the case for many. If you fall into this latter category, it might be time to enter a season of pruning.

Consider the following aspects of your life:

• Habits: Are you aware of what you spend your life on? Are there some habits you could live without that might be blunting your growth?
• Thoughts: Do you find yourself ruminating on specific ideas that keep you awake at night or are distracting you from taking the appropriate action in the situation?
• Commitments: Are there just too many things in your diary that keep you from the things you actually want to be doing?
• Physical space: Is your home environment cluttered or disorganised to the level that it causes anxiety or you having to waste time looking for things?
• Work or business: Are you spending the most amount of time on the essential things given your role or focus of your business?
• Relationships: Are you spending enough time with the most important people in your life that bring you the highest level of joy and fulfilment?
• Your body: Can you do with some pruning yourself? Do you need a haircut or to take care of your nails? Do you have a niggle or a health concern keeping you from moving at your best? Or could you shake a couple of kilograms (most of us can after winter, including yours truly)?

I’m not sure if plants have feelings (most vegetarians I’ve asked don’t seem to think so), but I am pretty sure they don’t enjoy the pruning process. So you shouldn’t expect any of this to be easy or effortless. But do remind yourself that growth, health and progress don’t always come from adding more – often it comes from taking something away first.

What do you need to prune from your life, team or business?

If you would like some guidance on how to prune or where to start – reach out to us. You can reach us at info@purposeworks.co.za.

At PurposeWorks we are all about Making You and Your Work Rock. Our focus is on Organisational Health and Design, Employee Centered Culture, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching. For more information on how we can help you create a work environment that rocks, develop a great team, become an inspiring leader or unlock your personal excellence talk to us at info@purposeworks.co.za.