Everyday we have opportunities to bring in positive thoughts and messages about ourselves and our lives; We just have to learn how to be conscious and aware of these opportunities. You do have the ability to live ‘Being Well Within’ and as you learn to access this awareness, you can live more empowered and be fulfilled.
Most of us have some amount of clutter in our lives. We have papers that we’re not sure what to do with, too many souvenirs, children’s toys lying around, homes that are too small to store all our “stuff”, so “our stuff” lies around our homes on shelves, table-tops, stairs, furniture, or any nook or cranny that isn’t already filled up. Our minds and bodies store clutter as well, and all this “stuff” complicates and overwhelms our lives making living with serenity, clarity and focus increasingly difficult; and feeling calm virtually impossible. When we can’t see our way clear because of physical clutter or mental and emotional clutter, our lives become increasingly limited and stressful, not to mention costly.
How and why our lives become cluttered varies for everyone. We all have our ’reasons’, but no matter what they might be, clutter takes its toll on our lives. We’re burdened, frustrated, maybe even extremely isolated and can’t see our way clear to live differently. Often times, depression can lead to clutter, and vice-versa. If you don’t feel connected to life, people and activities, you begin to feel that it doesn’t matter that your home is filled with stuff; no one is visiting anyway, and deep down, you might not want anyone to visit either. Then as the clutter builds, you feel increasingly powerless, because now you don’t know how to get out from under all the clutter that has collected. The more powerless you feel, the less you do to take charge of your stuff and your life, and you live in a vicious cycle.
Maybe you have collected certain memorabilia over the years, and didn’t realize that it had taken over your life until it was too late, and now it’s not organized in a meaningful way, and you’ve lost control of how much you have actually amassed. Maybe you’re afraid to get rid of all this because they carry so many memories you’re worried you’ll forget all the good times you had if you no longer have the specific items as reminders.
You might be a procrastinator, and think that ‘tomorrow’ you’ll take care of everything. As the saying goes, “tomorrow is the busiest day of the week”. Each day you feel more and more overwhelmed by looking at what has to be tackled, so the organizational activities you planned for get put off yet again. The longer we put something off, the more overwhelming the task becomes.
Perhaps you are one of those people who get comfort from your stuff. Your stuff represents what you’ve been able to purchase, amass, hold on to… Along the lines of “he who dies with the most toys, wins”. Comedian George Carlin used to do a whole routine about “stuff”. He would say “while I have stuff, you have junk”. Is it hard for you to acknowledge what has lost its usefulness or value, so you hold on to things just because you don’t want to look at what’s there. Are you following Murphy’s Law that tells you the minute you throw something away, that’s when you’ll find you’ll need it?
For all these reasons, and many more, we clutter our lives with things, thoughts, beliefs and behaviors that undermine our feelings of self-worth and self-respect. We can change how we live, but of course the first step in doing so is to acknowledge that what you’re doing and how you’re living isn’t getting you the positive, life-enhancing results you want and so deserve. Making a change in how you live, like any other change you want to make, requires commitment, patience and courage.
What is your desired outcome? Can you see your goal? Can you imagine what you could do differently in your life if you weren’t burdened with all that “stuff”? What are you willing to do, to rid yourself of the emotional, mental and physical clutter that has taken over your life? Even if the clutter is in just one area of your life, if you are burdened by it, you can now choose to take back your power in that area of your life.
While you may know what to do, the key is to do it. Do you need help, support, guidance? Often times in life we need accountability. In school or work we have deadlines, or we make appointments, or we have to report our progress to our colleagues or supervisors. To de-clutter your space(s) do you need to have a deadline, or someone (other than yourself) to whom you’ll be accountable? It’s important in life to have support systems, and in dealing with that which overwhelms and overpowers us it’s particularly important. Look around, and decide what you need in order to take that first step in clearing out the clutter from your life. Do you need the help of a friend, family member, or a professional? It’s time to get started so that you can step into your life fully, and not be held back by emotional, mental or material baggage. Take that deep breath, and have trust in your abilities to make the changes necessary in your life, to free yourself of that which holds you hostage.
Let go of the judgments and criticisms; they don’t help. When you actively take steps that empower you and help you move forward in your life you are moving in the right direction. Make or reaffirm the commitment to treat yourself with the love, respect and compassion you deserve.
Join us on Wed. July 11 for our FREE teleseminar all about de-cluttering… For details and to register go to: http://www.beingwellwithin.com/workshops/teleseminar-gettingorganized/
Post your concerns and questions about clutter, organization, overwhelm here… or when you register… Let’s make this the summer of clarity and organization so we can move forward with greater ease into an empowered life…
Recent Comments