Spring cleaning isn’t just about cleaning all the hard-to-reach places in your home and clearing out the clutter to give yourself a little more room to move. It’s also about getting rid of the mental clutter. It’s about letting go of all those negative thoughts and feelings that are holding you back and keeping you unhappy!
You see, as much as our success depends on our habits, on being organized enough to get things done, it also depends on how we view the world and handle adversity. We’ve all heard how the Negative Nellies we know respond to challenge with a defeated, “I knew this was going to happen!”
But when was the last time we stopped to consider what negative habits are holding us back? Just as the clutter and chaos builds up over the course of the year despite our best intentions, those old negative, self-defeating patterns start taking over our mental spaces until you give them a thorough cleaning!
So as you are clearing out your closet and organizing the back mud room, consider giving your mindset a good once-over and letting go of these thoughts:
#1: Resentment — Stop replaying every bad interaction over and over again in your mind. So what if your lazy ex-business partner completely messed up the business. Yes, it sucks, but the past is in the past for a reason — leave it there and move on!
#2: Jealousy — Let go of feeling like you need to one-up everyone around you. Other peoples’ successes take nothing away from you. Be happy for them and get back to work on achieving your own successes (knowing they will be equally as happy for you when you do)!
#3: Fear and Worry — Ditch the “What-if” worry habit because it is costing you all your potential success! Ask yourself, “What if you are wildly successful beyond your imagination?” What if about that all the way to the finish line!
#4: Stress and Overwhelm — Use your stress levels as a temperature check on your organization habits. If you are feeling stressed about something that isn’t related to mindset problem #3 above, it’s time to stop overloading yourself to the point of overwhelm! Slow down!
#5: Perfectionism — Learn how to be good with “good enough” and focus on getting it done. Perfectionists are guilty of getting many many things to 95% complete and losing their momentum simply because the last 5% isn’t quite there yet. Get it out there and call it good!
Happy spring cleaning!
