It’s spring and it’s time for some spring cleaning! When you hear “spring cleaning” you probably think of an area of your house that you need to tackle. Go for it! I absolutely encourage you to clear physical clutter from your life. The more chaos there is around you the more chaos there will be inside of you. External clutter creates internal clutter. More creates more. More things mean more to clean, more to pay off, more to upkeep, more things to use. All of those things cause us to use extra mental energy. This is unnecessary – Let’s get rid of it. I have written a blog on how to clear physical clutter from five main areas of your life and I encourage you to re-read that one here if you’re in need of some physical decluttering. Then come back and let’s tackle these three areas for some internal spring cleaning!
THOUGHTS:
We have 60-80,000 thoughts a day. Thoughts are sentences in our mind. Most of these thoughts are automatic and on re-play from our past. In order to straighten out an area of our house or an area of our brain, we need to be aware of what’s there in the first place. Start listening to what you tell yourself during the day. Which thoughts are you focusing on? Which ones come up daily? Where did that thought even come from? Who’s voice is that? Your moms? A critical teacher or boss? When you think those thoughts how do you feel? What do you do when you think those thoughts? Here are some thoughts that might be nice to clean out:
I can’t do that.
I’m lazy/disorganized/unmotivated…
I am moody.
I am always late.
These are not truths. These are things you’re choosing to tell yourself. The more aware we can become of the thoughts we’re thinking, the easier it is to clean them out. The beautiful thing with spring cleaning your thoughts is that you actually don’t have to do much more than (1) bring attention to the thought you’re thinking and then, (2) question it (is that thought true?). Once you’ve stopped the thought from playing on automatic replay, your cleaning has started. The thought will no longer automatically derail your day. You gain control of your feelings and the actions you take.
HABITS:
Which habits are not helping you in your life? What do you do during the day that adds stress to your life? These would be nice habits to send off to goodwill or to put in the trash can during this spring cleaning frenzy. Similar to thoughts, when you pause to bring attention to what you’re doing, you gain control over those actions.
Do you hit snooze every morning?
Do you automatically reach for your phone when theres a lull in your day?
Do you turn on the TV the minute you walk in the door?
Do you automatically pour a glass of wine when preparing dinner?
I’m not here to judge what you’re doing. Only you know if the actions you routinely take add value or add stress to your life. I’m here to shine a light on what you’re doing and remind you that you are choosing to do these things. You choose to hit snooze. You choose to spend your time watching TV. You choose to pour the wine. Do you want to continue making these choices? When you do these things, how do you feel afterwards? When you do these things, what don’t you get done in your day? Spring is a great time to kick out a habit and make room for a new one. Click To Tweet
RELATIONSHIPS:
The people we spend time around influence us in all ways. Who do you surround yourself with? Like your habits, look at whether those people add value or add stress to your life? Do they uplift you? Support you? Encourage you to be the best version of yourself? How do you feel after you’re around them? Be discerning here. I don’t care who it is, whether it’s your friend from elementary school or your mother, you are an adult and you always have a choice as to who is in your life. If the people with whom you regularly communicate don’t add value to your life, why do you keep communicating with them? Click To Tweet Really ask yourself, why? We usually stay in these relationship because of some sort of fear. Fear is not an empowering emotion to live from. Fear constricts you and limits your ability to shine in this world.
Choose who you surround yourself with. The greatest determiner of our overall happiness is the quality of our relationships. Who do you interact with daily? Weekly? Who do you get together with out of obligation? This is a form of “shoulding” on yourself. I “should” call her because she’s my sister. I “should” invite her to lunch because she’s my mother-in-law. Really? Where do you fit into that equation? Your mental and physical health are the average of the five people with who you surround yourself. If you surround yourself with complainers, you will complain. If you surround yourself with people who are negative, you will focus on the negative aspects of your days. Choose who you call. Choose who you text. Choose who influences your days.
Take responsibility for your space. If something or someone is toxic, degrading, or disempowering, don’t allow it into your physical or mental space. Let me know how your spring cleaning is going. My 6 Week Program is a great place to start when looking at your life and the choices you’re making to form that life. You re an adult and you are in charge. Let’s make this spring your time to SHINE!
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