De-clutter your mind

Most people have some clutter in their home.   Even the tidiest housekeeper might have drawers full of papers that should be thrown away,  dishes and kitchen ware that are shoved to the back of the cupboard and never used, tools that are piled up in the corner of the garage and other useless items that are being stored somewhere in the house just because they might be needed someday.  Then there are people who get really carried away with clutter and fill up their entire house with items that they don’t need, will never use and eventually will rot and decay.  I’ve cleaned some of those houses where you can’t even navigate through them without tripping over something.

When your home is cluttered, you likely also have a cluttered mind and it is important to de-clutter your mind as well as your home.   Just de-cluttering a home will not solve the problem and you will just end up back where you started from.  A cluttered mind can result from being depressed, feeling worthless or unloved, not getting support, losing control, too much pressure or just feeling overwhelmed with life in general.   When you feel bad about yourself and other people, your possessions start looking pretty good because you have control over them and can accumulate whatever you want.  Your ‘stuff’ gives you comfort and actually becomes part of you.  This is why it is so hard to convince some people to de-clutter their homes.

If you have trouble de-cluttering your home, it is time to start de-cluttering your mind.  Reach out to any family members or friends who you can trust and ask them for help.  Talk to your family doctor and ask him/her to connect you with some professionals that will help you get started on a journey to improve your emotional, mental and physical health.   Don’t stay stuck in the clutter.  Take steps to move forward and start enjoying your life.   Believe that you are special and you deserve it!

 

A question

Get a piece of paper and a pen and answer the following question.  Don’t take time to really think about your answer, just write down what comes into your mind first.

Ready?  Write down 3 things that would make you happy today, right now, right this minute.  1)  2)  3)

Okay, now what were your answers?  Money, a new car, a vacation……..

Now let’s stop and think about your answers.

• If it were possible to have these things right now, would they still be making you happy next month?
• If it were possible to have these things right now, would they still be making you happy next year?
• What about in 5 years?

In today’s world, we want everything to happen instantly.  We have no patience to wait for much of anything.  However, sometimes when we get the things we want right away, these things aren’t even important after a period of time passes.

• We might really want a new car and go out and spend a lot of money to get it, putting most of the cost on credit, but after a couple of years making payments, we don’t even care about the car anymore.
• We might really want a big house, but after making mortgage payments and having all the work cleaning and maintaining the house, it might not be so great 10 years from now when we still owe a lot of money and have to work long hours to pay for it.
• We might want to marry that awesome person, but a few years down the road…………..well, you get my meaning.

Anything that is really important in life takes time and effort to achieve or accomplish.  If we get things too easily, we don’t appreciate them and after awhile we often don’t even want them.

Take the time to really consider what would make you happy in life.  You might get a different answer than you expected.

 

Nobody is perfect

We are all looking for a perfect life.  You know the one that you keep hearing about from all those ads on TV and in magazines.  Buy this product and you will be happy.   Join this weight loss program and you’ll have lots of friends.  If you wear these stylish clothes, you will get a great job.  This new shampoo will give you beautiful hair.  Products have become more important than people.   Unfortunately, none of these things can make you happy or give you the perfect life.

People spend so much time trying to find the perfect life when it is not even attainable.  Let’s look at reality:

• You are not perfect and never will be
• Your spouse is not perfect and never will be
• Your children are not perfect and never will be
• Your friends are not perfect and never will be
• Nothing in this world is perfect and never will be

So why are we all looking for something that isn’t even real?  Instead of wasting our time and money searching for happiness in worthless possessions, we should celebrate our uniqueness and work hard at building good relationships with our families and friends.

People are not perfect and they will never be perfect, so try to accept their imperfections and love them for who they are.  You are not perfect, so try to accept your imperfections and love yourself for who you are.