What Are You Juggling?

Are you an Entrepreneur?  Are you a physician?  Are you a human? You may not realize it, but you have an extraordinary talent.  You are a juggler. 

You, The Juggler

So what does a juggler do?  The have a series of items that they are managing. They are managing to keep those various items moving.  But there is one catch....there are more items than hands, so they have to quickly move from one item to the next, giving each just a small critical slice of time. Just enough time to keep it moving and in the air.   Not a whole lot different from you, the entrepreneur.  The greater the skill of the juggler, the more items can be kept in the air.

What Are You Juggling?

Most juggler entertainers juggle items like balls, bowling pins and other harmless items like knives, fire and chain saws.  Yes, they are quite entertaining.  But you, the entrepreneur, juggle different things.  And it seems that you have more and more items that are added to the stream of juggled items as you move forward.  You worry about dropping one of those items.  What will it mean?  What will happen if I drop one?

You WILL Drop Juggled Items.

 Unlike entertainers, we are not typically juggling the same thing.  Each item is unique. Each it different.  And each has different ramifications.  Here is how I like to think of what I juggle.  Tell me if this sounds familiar...

Some items are heavier than others.  It takes more effort and strength to keep them in the air.

Some items are like rubber balls.  If I drop one, it will likely bounce and I can get it back into my juggling stream relatively easily.

Some items are like putty.  If I drop it, it will hit the ground with a thud and stay there.  I may be able to pick it up, and get it back into the juggling stream, but in doing so, I may put the other items I am juggling at risk of being dropped.

Some items are like hot potatoes. You want to drop them and get rid of them.  

There are glass balls that you juggle.  If you drop them, they hit the ground, shatter and are lost.

Everything We Do Is A Juggling Item

What are you juggling in your life and career?  What are the items that critical that you MUST keep in the air? Which are the hot potatoes that you can and should drop?  Which are the glass balls that will shatter if you drop them? 

Everything we do can be described as a juggling item. Each has it's own characteristics.  It's own weight. Resiliency. Fragility. It's up to you to determine those characteristics and treat them accordingly.

You are adding new juggling items on a daily basis.  You can only juggle so many things at one time.  It's up to you to figure out which ones to drop ... and which ones to keep in the air.

What items in your life are YOU juggling?

Which ones are ESSENTIAL to keeping in the air?

Which ones should you DROP? Are they putting the essential items at risk?