I was pruning my tomato plant yesterday it got me thinking about how and why we prune.
We prune plants for various reasons. For instance, I was pruning off dying/diseased shoots on my tomato plant. When I snip the plant I am inflicting short term damage however in the long run it will be a healthier plant. If I were to let my tomato plant keep this dying yellowed shoot then the plant would be putting precious energy into trying to repair the damaged shoot instead of focusing on flowering or growing healthy tomatoes. As people we really aren't that different. We can pour our energy into something that isn't going to pan out- whether that is a stagnant job or failing relationship or non productive habits. When we are working towards reviving a dying thing then we can't possibly be putting our focus on creating our best selves.
Another reason for pruning is to focus the plant. You can have a plant that is making a huge quantity of blooms which sounds good at first. I would love to have hundreds of tomatoes but I would rather have 50 mouth watering delicious tomatoes instead of 100 average tomatoes. This is how life can be when you are pulled in too many different directions. When you are trying to focus on too many things then you won't do any one thing very well. Pruning in your life looks a lot like simplifying. You can prune activities and commitments so that there's room for the best things.
Pruning may seem painful or difficult but those feelings are short lived. When pruning is done properly, the plant begins healing that area immediately. It can then be free to be better than it could've imagined.
What can be pruned in your life to make way for the best version of you?
Pruning:
The practice of targeted removal of diseased, damaged, dead, non-productive, structurally unsound and superfluous parts in order to control or direct growth, improve health, and to increase the yield or quality of flowers and fruits.
We prune plants for various reasons. For instance, I was pruning off dying/diseased shoots on my tomato plant. When I snip the plant I am inflicting short term damage however in the long run it will be a healthier plant. If I were to let my tomato plant keep this dying yellowed shoot then the plant would be putting precious energy into trying to repair the damaged shoot instead of focusing on flowering or growing healthy tomatoes. As people we really aren't that different. We can pour our energy into something that isn't going to pan out- whether that is a stagnant job or failing relationship or non productive habits. When we are working towards reviving a dying thing then we can't possibly be putting our focus on creating our best selves.
Another reason for pruning is to focus the plant. You can have a plant that is making a huge quantity of blooms which sounds good at first. I would love to have hundreds of tomatoes but I would rather have 50 mouth watering delicious tomatoes instead of 100 average tomatoes. This is how life can be when you are pulled in too many different directions. When you are trying to focus on too many things then you won't do any one thing very well. Pruning in your life looks a lot like simplifying. You can prune activities and commitments so that there's room for the best things.
Pruning may seem painful or difficult but those feelings are short lived. When pruning is done properly, the plant begins healing that area immediately. It can then be free to be better than it could've imagined.
What can be pruned in your life to make way for the best version of you?
Pruning:
The practice of targeted removal of diseased, damaged, dead, non-productive, structurally unsound and superfluous parts in order to control or direct growth, improve health, and to increase the yield or quality of flowers and fruits.