"Rocks unattended turn into mounds, and then mountains.
And it’s our job to do daily cleanups - be it job, family, health,
relationship, finance." - Oprah
It's easy to ask ourselves to let go of things or emotions,
to create space for more; but doing so causes anxiety, fear and stress. This
holds true for not just our clothes, shoes or random paper clutter accumulated
over days, but also for people, thoughts, useless feeling and emotions that
weigh us down inviting chaos into our life.
Our brain is valuable space and our resources aren’t
limited. So, when we’re constantly
accepting new information, we’re cramming more into a tight space. And if we’re not careful, we could be kicking
valuable information out and replacing it with not-so-valuable stuff. Cleaning
is a good way to hit the refresh button in life when all this stagnant clutter
seems to bring you down.
Often, tackling the clutter can seem an insurmountable task
if you don’t know where or how to start. I believe “de-cluttering mentally”
gives your life more meaning and energy than doing it just at material level.
You need to start saying good-bye to decisions and people that don’t support
self-worth and personal growth.
By devoting little time to get rid of the clutter in your
life and maintaining things relatively clutter-free , you’ll reap the rewards
of pleasing living areas, reduced stress, and a more organized and productive
existence. Below tips just might prove to be a good kick start in the process:
Let the creative juices flow:
It's the best way to relax your mind and soul by far for me.
As often as possible, explore your imagination. Let curiosity lead. When it
comes to opportunities to get creative, there are plenty! Few of my favorites:
travel, painting, music, dancing, photography, fashion, decor, making a meal,
talking to people. The point is to get lost in what you like without caring
about how good you are at it. When you achieve that feeling from a certain
activity, keep doing it!
Out goes the garbage:
De-clutter your stuff. And by this I don't just mean the
"miscellaneous items” around your house but also all the idiotic,
nonsensical thoughts that doesn’t matter anymore and are there in your head
just giving you ache and decreasing your memory. Remember - Your brain is not a
museum of thoughts. Practice Simplicity: having everything we need with the
additional benefit of being able to locate it. When we get rid of mind clutter,
we discern essential from unessential information. Keep the information but get
rid of the data. Clear the crap and make space for new ideas and thoughts.
Having a lot of stuff around you is just visual clutter — it
occupies part of your mind, even if you don’t realize it. The equation is
simple: the less you own > the less you worry > the calmer you get.
Routine Revision:
This one I am still trying to work on. I have never had a
set routine in my life, I like going with the flow and prioritizing as and when
needed but majorly I go through my chores haphazardly. Without structure, it leads to drop in
productivity. Try to stuff your routine
with spaces to breathe in between different tasks. In general, life presents
you with opportunities only if you allow it to, so leave a good buffer between
your scheduled tasks. Here comes batch processing. Instead of doing all your
chores on a single day, allocate specific time for each task and divide your
chores to be done throughout the week. Also it’s helpful to write down all of
your chores and then plan accordingly. Choose a tool—it can be an online tool,
an app, or even a pad of paper. But don’t end up with an endless to-do list
& create more brain-clutter. Focus
on the things that are important. Having a routine just might help calm your
nerves a bit!! :)
Dump your past:
Mind clutter is often related to the past. Most people keep
a large cabinet of mental drawers stored in the back of their minds. These
drawers are filled with mistakes they’ve made, opportunities they’ve missed,
people they’ve hurt, past grievances, and so on. Take the time to go through
those mental drawers and discard memories of the past that are not serving you
well and are just cluttering up your life.
Another commitment??
Often our space is too cluttered with work, family, friends,
hobbies, and so on. Just pause for a while, give yourself some moments to take
a look at the commitments made in each area and decide whether it really brings
you joy and value, and if it is worth the amount of time that you invest in it.
Or simply identify what you truly love and get rid of the rest. Learn how to say no!!
Mind Gym:
Your mind and your body aren’t standing in separate corners
of the room. It’s much easier for a physically unhealthy person to experience a
poor mental state. The brain is a delicate organ and we have to treat it right.
Do any form of physical activity you like. Be it skipping, jogging, dance,
aerobics, sports. Just get out there and do it for the happy and healthy mind.
So you are positive...
For the longest time, I could not get on board with the
positive thinking movement. It sounded fluffy and shallow at first. It seemed
to make light of my problems and didn’t work at all. I have read books, scanned
blog posts, even written a few of my own, and repeat the positive affirmations
over and over to myself, but no avail. Deep inside, I still felt negative,
unhappy and far from positive or peaceful. And one fine day I realized I was
committing to the positive thoughts as much as I was holding on to the negative
ones. Both can’t be at one place!!
Get those learning hats on:
I am not sure of how powerful this might be for you, but
yeah persistence is the key to the lock called "Meditation". A week of meditation will do you no good, try
to make it part of your routine like breathing. In essence, meditation is
learning to focus the mind completely on the present moment. When you learn how
to place all of your attention on one thing — such as your breath, all other
thoughts disappear. It’s almost the equivalent of taking your mind through a
car wash, and having useless and unnecessary thoughts washed away.
Idiot Box:
This might sound off the topic and bizarre but for me, television is not a relaxing device, although it
might seem that hooking in front of the TV is good for relaxation. TV fills
your head with noise, without the redeeming qualities of music or reading or
good conversation. Watch less TV, and your mind will begin to calm. After all there is a reason why it's called "Idiot Box".
So, Where do you start? With the bad, scary corner.
Where do you stop? Don't ever...
De-cluttering is ever evolving, as you move closer to the
self you were supposed to be. And saying goodbye to hoard of clothes is a darn
good start. Good Luck!!
