Each Spring many of us feel compelled to clean closets, sort through our belongings and weed the flower beds. This year, we have spent a lot of time in our homes, doing our best to avoid and not spread Coronavirus. Now I invite you to take a more expanded approach to your Spring Cleaning!
Like the cookies, history and temporary files that gather on our devices and need frequent cleanup, most of us run background programs that we don’t hear or acknowledge as present. Let’s take a look at some of the not-so-quiet noise that may be running in your minds and hearts. With this type of Spring-cleaning, you can run your own mental/emotional maintenance program.
What drives your actions?
I invite you to sit back and listen to what may be whispering, talking or yelling in your unconsciousness. Some of the more common recordings that run are negative messages and self-talk that may have started at an early age or have been picked up along the way as you went out into the work world without positive mentors or role models to learn from.
Thoughts can lead to emotions; emotions can lead to actions. Inversely, emotions can lead to thoughts, which can lead to actions. What’s driving what you do? The easiest way to decide this is to be honest about how you are feeling. Paying attention to your feelings will open you up to being clearer in enormously productive ways.
Take control
Let’s explore a couple of ideas to clean-sweep that noise and take control of your thoughts and emotions. It’s easier to know what’s good for you and what’s not good for you when you feel clear, clean and open. Practice this by first becoming aware of your self-talk. Is it loving, gentle or patient? If you drive yourself long and hard, start your Spring cleaning by allowing yourself to have some free time and space to sit quietly, go for a walk or listen to music that makes you happy. When you regularly practice self-supporting activities, you become accustomed to the good feelings you create with these activities. As you improve your ability to catch the thoughts and patterns that sneak in to run your mind, you will choose more supportive thoughts that lead to better feelings that can elevate your mood and your energy.
If you’re an excuse maker, rationalizing indulgences and unproductive patterns will keep you stuck and you may not be living the life you really want to have. Practice catching yourself when you think or speak words that take you out of the game. Instead, use action verbs that bring your desire into the present. Imagine and feel the sweet victory of accomplishing a goal, achieving something that you’ve dreamed about, or having something that you’ve pushed away because you thought you couldn’t have it. Create and hold an image of what you want to have. Doing this for just 15 seconds helps you focus on what you want, forgetting that it’s not yet in your life.
Focus on the smaller pieces
How about procrastination? We all do it. When you find yourself putting something off, break it down to smaller pieces and accomplish something to get the ball rolling. In the past, I was guilty of making things seem larger than life, then becoming overwhelmed and not doing anything. Now, I practice creating short get-to-do lists and that gets me started by doing one or two things, instantly energizing me.
If your life isn’t where you’d like it to be, or if you desire something that you don’t have, play with feeling better about your desire. If you’re constantly focused on not having what you want, you’re actually continuing to push it away. Anytime you feel good about something, you naturally attract it to you. We live in a world where whatever you wish to have more of, can be yours.
As I listen to the Springtime sound of Robins and Cardinals outside, I’m aware of the beauty and abundance of nature and how wonderful it feels to feel good. Create room in your mind, heart and body to feel better this Spring!
