Life Change – 5 Ways to Get Unstuck and Started
Dare to Change!
Many of us have come to that moment in our lives when we realize we have been presented with an unprecedented gift; quality time. We women of a certain age today will live healthier and longer than any time in history. Interestingly just as we are armed with a collection of more or less half a lifetime of experiences, failures, successes and the kind of knowledge and wisdom one acquires only through ‘living’ we find ourselves with an indescribable yearning for something more.
Recently during one of our Adventure Fest Mastermind discussions we found ourselves trying to define this yearning and we ultimately described it as a desire to recover and reactivate those parts of ourselves from the past that we have let lapse during all this living. We recalled what it felt like to be filled with imagination, creativity and a natural intuition for our personal rhythm. That longing for the long lost time when we instinctively took care of our needs and wants and made room for the personal exploration that kept us whole, fulfilled and growing.
Yes, these are exciting times for us and with our cache of life lessons, wisdom and passion we have the opportunity to live the second half of our lives very differently than our mothers and grandmothers if we choose to. But for some of us, with all this experience and living we have been doing, our lives can feel like a giant house filled with cluttered rooms. There is so much accumulated stuff in these rooms it can be overwhelming to decide where to start. Often we spend so much time thinking about how we might change our lives we become overwhelmed and do nothing at all.
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.
~ Seneca
The important thing is to take that first step and begin. Here are 5 tips to help start the process:
- Start Small – but START! Begin by spending a designated amount of time each day thinking and writing about how satisfied you are with your life now. Define which parts of your life you like and those parts you would like to change. But remember, indecision is a time thief! Try setting a limit for the amount of time you will spend deciding where to start. During that time write down all the possibilities you want to explore and decide on one or two areas of your life you want to improve. Once you’re deadline arrives – commit to starting. (As in put it on your calendar and do it)
- Make a Plan – Next decide on two or three action steps that you can take to start your progress. Keep a daily list of actions needed and completed. Commit to doing at least one thing, no matter how small, on the list each day. It’s helpful to realize from the beginning that your plan will not be perfect and its okay to change it if you find it isn’t working. Make an agreement with yourself to be flexible.
- Follow Through – Moving through change can be uncomfortable and feel awkward but it is the only way to move forward. Recognize that we each have our own style of dealing with change. Understanding this will take the pressure off and allow you to undertake this change at your own pace. This is an important tip and will greatly increase the likelihood of sticking to your plan!
- Get Support – Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Having a safe and non-judgmental place to go for ideas, encouragement and accountability will play a big part in your eventual success. Enlist the help of a good friend or find a group who share your goals.
- Make it FUN – This isn’t supposed to be drudgery. Find ways to unlock your creativity and make it fun. This is about getting back in touch with ‘you’; don’t compare yourself or your progress with anyone else. Try new things and bring back your forgotten pleasures!
Keep your results handy and visit them often for contemplation. Hopefully it gives you a peek at what might be and inspires you to get Unstuck and Started!
P.S. On that note…don’t forget the FREE Teleseminar/Disscussion. You can get started right now by joining us on October 19th for How to Get a New Perspective on the Rest of Your Life. Or even better – join one of our coming Mastermind Groups! CLICK HERE to get unstuck NOW!
To your hopes, dreams, and possibilities…
Deborah
Life Change – Clutter Therapy for the Mind
Wow, we are having such an incredible experience in the Adventure Fest Boot Camp Mastermind and the energy created is producing powerful ideas and actions! The mutual support, contributions and group accountability has proved to be a delicious recipe for growth!
This past week we were exploring how the people we surround ourselves with and the environments we spend our time in can make a huge impact on our lives. This discussion proved to be very insightful and really got me thinking!
Clutter Therapy
How can something as simple, (or as difficult!) as de-cluttering a closet and removing items that no longer fit in our lives actually create a more positive outlook for the future and provide new energy to break free of old habits and move forward?
When your environment is cluttered, your mind is cluttered.
As my daughter Alexis says:
“The less clutter you have in your home, the clearer you are when you walk out the door.”
Or in the door for that matter! I think we all can connect with the feeling of walking into a clean orderly house after a long or stressful day. The difference is night and day.
The truth is, mental and physical clutter are well known sources of stress and tend to creep into every facet of our lives affecting our ability to think clearly and our enjoyment of life overall. Clutter is an energy sucker that distracts you, weighs you down and can leave you feeling overwhelmed from the moment you open your eyes in the morning.
When you let go of things that no longer fit or are not adding value to your life a huge new source of energy becomes available to you and your mind has room to breathe and space for new ideas!
But what about that mental clutter?
Lately I have begun to notice the number of people who are walking their dogs or with their children at the park and even companions out having dinner; all with their I-pods in front of their face instead of enjoying the moment.
Today we are constantly bombarded with messages from every sort; commercials, emails, texts and news updates. Most of us have a myriad of obligations and activities on top of that!
So I guess it’s really not that hard to see why spending a bit of time de-cluttering your world and mind might reap some major benefits in anyone’s life but especially if you are trying to work on changing your life or achieve a much wanted goal!
Here are a few ideas to help get you started:
Start with any area that frustrates you the most! Now I’m not an organizing expert but from the majority of women I talk to, including myself, the two biggest areas of concern are the clothes closet and that ‘counter’ which is the drop zone when you bring in mail or come in the door.
- The closet:
- If you haven’t worn it in over a year – donate or toss it.
- If it needs altering and you haven’t done it in 6 months – donate or toss.
- If you wear it but don’t really like it – donate or toss.
- If it doesn’t fit right – get rid of it! I can see keeping a couple of goal items but delegating a whole section of a closet to clothes you wore 5 – 10 years ago is NOT incentive. I actually pulled several items from my closet that had been there so long the moths had decided to eat them and I didn’t even know it!
- Then move onto the shoes. Again, if they are not comfortable and if you don’t actually like or wear them – donate or toss.
- Next the drop zone:
- Go through the pile and separate according to what it is; bills, to be filed, junk/trash. Mine usually includes a large amount of junk mail and a surprisingly small amount of items that actually need to be kept.
- The BIG thing is to devise a plan to KEEP it from accumulating again.
- Plug into your schedule, right now, a time to get the mail and immediately sit and sort through it. It really only takes about 5 -10 minutes to take bills to where you pay them, put coupons in a folder, file what needs to be filed and throw the rest out!
- Take the time to find a different place for your purse and keys. Purchase the folders, baskets or boxes for depositing the items you normally leave in your drop zone and put them where you want them to belong!
- Now for the Therapy part: (These came up in one of our Mastermind Boot Camp Sessions and they are both really good!
- One way to get a big burst of energy is to take a room you spend a lot of time in and go through and de-clutter it; donating and tossing old and unwanted items in the room. Remove any clutter from tables and drawers. Then re-arrange the furniture and purchase some new pillows to create a new fresh look. You will be surprised to find after making this change you might just have a new way of looking at other things in your life as well!
- De-Clutter your information overload: In this fast paced digital world we live in today it is easy for information overload to creep in. Set some limits!
- Get rid of some of your RSS feeds.
- Unsubscribe from updates from companies whose products you are no longer interested in.
- Get rid of files and programs you don’t need.(Your computer will also thank you)
- Consider checking your face book or emails only at certain times of the day.
- Speaking of information overload…while you’re at it try reducing the amount of television you watch!
When you get in the habit of devoting a little bit of time getting rid of accumulated clutter on a REGULAR basis you’ll reap the rewards of not only a more pleasant environment but also reduced stress and a lot more room for creativity! So start small but work on it on a scheduled regular basis and don’t beat yourself up if it isn’t finished on your first or second visit! As you stay at it you will soon find it’s DONE!
As Bruce Lee says:
Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.
P.S. Don’t forget to check out the NEXT ‘How to Get a New Perspective on the Rest of Your Life discussion on October 19th! Click Here for more info and to join us.
Deborah Hayes, CTA Life Coach
Empowering women to live a life of consequence, a life without regrets that is your own unique version of the life you love. About Deborah
deborah@womenintransitiononline.com
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