Our internal and external worlds are intrinsically linked. Internally, when we have negative, fear-based or busy thinking it accumulates and manifests as thought clutter, clogging up the flow of energy in every aspect of our lives.
Externally, our modern lifestyles are also to blame for our clutter. Statistics show we are making more purchases and accumulating more clutter in our lives than ever before. In a society that continues to support excessive production of short-lived, disposable items, it is not just our closets that are jam-packed.
Exposure to a high speed, media-intense world, coupled with compulsive multi-tasking at work and home overloads our minds and our environment. Fast food, pollution and overstimulation taxes our bodies, while calendars bursting with tightly packed schedules burden our sense of personal space.
In my book Burnout to Brilliance: Strategies for Sustainable Success (Changemakers Books) I use the clutter circle diagram below to help demonstrate the impact of external pressures. As you look at the diagram, try answering the following questions:
Do you hold on to physical things you no longer need, use, love or care about?
This includes the things you accumulate in your home, office, wallet, purse or handbags.
Are you carrying excess weight? Are you burdened by illnesses and ailments?
Do you regularly neglect your intuition to rest, eat well or exercise?
Do you over-exercise or exercise when you really need to rest?
Anything you put into your body that is not supportive of you or anything you do to or with your body that is not healthful contributes to this.
Are you constantly running from appointment to the next?
Are social media networks robbing you of rest?
Time clutter is all the things you end up doing, committing too or being involved with that you do not really enjoy, but fill your time with anyway because you get drawn into them out of habit, or overextend yourself with because you feel you should, ought to, or must.
Where in your life are you experiencing relationship ruptures?
There is a saying that people come into our lives for a reason, season or a lifetime. If you feel drained, depleted and unfulfilled from a relationship in your life examine whether it has passed its expiry date or whether there is something more you are being challenged to explore, change and learn from.
How is your relationship with yourself?
Become aware of your self-talk - what phrases you find you often tell yourself? Notice whether they are cruel or kind, caring or overly demanding.
Do you feel knocked off, disconnected, tired, unable to switch off, generally resentful, angry or unenthusiastic?
When this is balanced you feel a general sense of wellbeing; you are energised, all your organs are vital, you are connected with your intuition and internally guided by what you know is aligned with your own individual energy. Your energy is clear (it is not influenced by the energy of other people). Your chi flows with grace and ease through your energetic body without any energetic blockages.
In minds crammed with thoughts, organs clogged with toxins, and bodies stiffened with neglect, there is just no space for anything else.
Alison Rose Levy
You can clear the clutter in your life from both the inside out and from the outside in. The change of seasons is a great time to get started.
Be brave, examine the clutter in every area of your life and let go wherever you notice you are holding on to things you no longer need, use or love.
Clearing your clutter begins by making a commitment to yourself to simply get started. Begin by clearing a small manageable space, like your sock drawer or a shelf in your kitchen. The simple act of cleaning just one shelf of one cupboard in your home can serve as a powerful metaphor for sorting out other areas of your life.
You may be feeling so overwhelmed in your life that you don't know where to begin in order to move forward.
Allow one small area to act as a catalyst for much bigger change. It is all about setting an intention and making a commitment to yourself by taking action.
You can do it. Take that first step forward today!