What Every Woman Left Off Her List.
Oct 16, 2025
This past Tuesday, I did a talk with a group of women. who were members of my local Young Men's Service League, moms and their high school sons focused on doing service in their communities. This meeting was just the moms and a dear friend invited me to share some tips.
We did the "What's on Your Plate?" activity. In short, I bring a plate and a bunch of random objects. Then I ask the women to share what's on their plate right now and for each thing they list, I add an object.
We watch the plate pile up with ALL OF THE THINGS! And then we make some observations.
One thing that I notice EVERY SINGLE TIME I do this activity is that none of the women listed themselves as a priority. 0%
Every item on the list of things to do was serving, helping, organizing, driving and working for someone else.
No wonder we're burned out!
Admittedly, I've been there before. And at the time, the last thing I wanted to hear from someone is that I "should take some time for self-care". When you're overwhelmed and so, so busy...self-care just feels like piling another thing on the plate.
That's exactly why I created Anxiety Detox. It's both comprehensive and consumable. The modules are short and it covers ALL of the keys for freedom from anxiety (mind, body, and gut). After the launch of the original, I've since added the 30 day tracker which gives you a way to track your spikes in anxiety, find patterns, and see in real time what actually moves the needle.
You can do the "what's on your plate" exercise on your own. Write down (on the left-hand side of your paper) a list of EVERYTHING that is on your plate. Now, go through the list and ask yourself these questions:
- Are the things on this list moving me toward my goals and dreams for my life?
- Is there anything on the list that I NEED to get rid of?
- Is there something that I could ask for help with?
- What things on this list are bringing me the most joy?
- What's causing the most stress?
- Who can help with things on the list? (spouse, children, parents, friends, hire someone)
- What task am I giving A+ effort but it would be fine with C effort? (here's an example in my life. On the weekends, I LOVE to bake sourdough. It's time consuming and joyful. A+ effort. BUT when we're busy, it's too much to try to make it happen. If we need bread, I can just buy it. C effort...and totally fine!)
Of course, sometimes there are things on the list that we don't choose and can be challenging. Recently, my mother in law fell and broke her hip. (Don't worry, she's recovering nicely!) We were making trips to the hospital and keeping her dog, Bitsy. When you add something like that, you may need to let some other things go. We ate out more those weeks. And you know what!? It worked out. Letting some other things go meant we could love and support her without stress. We were happy to be able to support her when she needed us.
In short, it's good to review your list from time to time to make sure that it still aligns with your heart and the way you want to live your life. It's good to remember that you can't just keep adding things indefinitely. At some point, you'll want to take some things off, even if it's only for a short time. Letting go of things that don't serve you anymore can be both liberating and joyful!
You deserve joy and peace!
All my love,
Stacey
PS- If you haven't gotten on board with Anxiety Detox, you can check it out below.
