As we slowly come out of hibernation this makes now the ideal time to evaluate and declutter your life. This will give you more energy and time to spend on doing the things you really want and start working on achieving your goals in life.
Decluttering is good for physically organising your environment as well as being good for your mental health as it relieves stress, anxiety and also improves your decision making abilities.
Here are a few tips to get you started on decluttering your life:
Toxic Relationships
In a world that quantity is encouraged, we have people in our lives from school, college, work, hobbies etc. however as we continue in our life, not all these serve a purpose anymore. Especially if these relationships are making you feel bad about yourself, if they only call when they need you, or if it’s one sided where they just talk about themselves and never ask how are you, it’s time to declutter and let go of these relationships.
Quality of the relationships are much more important than quantity. It might be hard at first but it will definitely be worth it in the long run. Time is precious so spend it with people who lift you up rather than bring you down. Life is too short to be miserable, embrace those you love and who are supportive and nurture those relationships.
Technology Detox
We all have email and social media accounts for years; however, we have a tendency to just let them build up without ever really clearing them out in relation to what information we are receiving or seeing in our news feed. Here are a few tips to help you declutter; Unsubscribe to any promotional emails that are of no interest anymore and empty the spam folder. Go through your social media accounts, unfollow or delete people you wouldn’t talk to if you meet them in person or people who don’t make you feel good about yourself. Delete old photos or posts that are no longer relevant or represent who you are now.
Minimise the negative views, political views (enough of Trump and Brexit already) and anything else that appears in your news feed that is not positive or relevant to your life. Go one step further and remove the social media apps from your phone. By doing this you will reduce the precious time you waste scrolling through the news feed and use that extra energy to cross something off your To Do list. Try incorporate times throughout the week where there is no technology, read the paper, do a quiz or puzzle go outdoors for some fresh air, you will see a big difference in the long run to your health and well-being.
Take Care of Your Body
Physical health is crucial to keep functioning in our busy lives. It is also essential for maintaining good mental health and reducing your stress levels. So how do you look after your body? What habits do you have which you could replace with healthier alternatives. Can you improve your diet? Eat more fruit and vegetables, more water less caffeine etc. Where is exercise in your life? You should be aiming for at least 10 minutes of cardio every day. Why not try a new class in your local area. This is a great way to burn off the stress of the day, feel great both in body and mind and also a great way to meet new people.
Manage your Inner Critic
Declutter your mind, involves getting to grip with your inner critic. Your inner critic is that little voice in your head which just loves to bring you down in your life and try to keep you there. It affects how you feel about yourself, the way you relate to others and, most importantly, what you accomplish in your life.
Therefore, it is crucial that you do not just accept what the voice says as truth without challenging it, otherwise this will be toxic to you and will limit your true potential. Here are some tips on how to manage your inner critic;
- Recognise your Inner Critic: Learn to recognise the voice, what motivates him/her? What do you find it says to you frequently? Examples include I am not good enough, I don’t deserve this etc. It may help to put a name to identify it (e.g. devil/ monkey on my shoulder etc). Once he/she starts talking close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. This will instantly relax you and you can acknowledge the statement without judgement.
- Acknowledge how it makes you feel and how it impacts you: It’s crucial to remain objective and detached when evaluating the inner critic’s statements. Notice the emotions and feelings attached to each of the statements, this will take time especially and can be difficult at the start as it may bring up difficult and unpleasant emotions.
- Convert your Inner Critic into your own personal Coach: As you learn to manage your critic and tone down the harshness in the inner critic’s message, you will gain more insight to who you are, so you can see where these messages are stemming from, is it a place of fear and wants to hold you back or is it an opportunity to gain valuable insight. For example, if it says that you are not good enough at X, ask it why it feels that way and examine if there are areas that need improvement.
Now that you have decluttered your mind and made space for focusing on what you really want from your life. Be consistent and take small steps each day towards what you really want from your life and this is the key to having a successful and fulfilling life.
If you want help to declutter your life further, contact me and together we will can help you unlock your potential so you can live the life you really want.
