Spring Clean Your Life

Now that the mad rush of January is over, the kids are settled back at school, the routine at the office is back and track and you finally have 5 minutes to yourself, what better way to get the year underway than a good spring clean!

We tend to associate spring cleaning with September but now is a great time for you to spring clean your life, and your work / business. A time for cleaning out and reviewing parts of your life you're ready to commit to improving. It's like pulling out the weeds ready to plant new seeds; seeds of possibilities.

It's an opportunity to examine your goals and clear out the ones you don't want any longer. A time for getting rid of the old and making way for the new. It's a time of new beginnings, with a sense of hope and optimism.

If you're ready to enjoy more success, natural energy and confidence, then I encourage you to look at the areas of your life and business which need some spring cleaning.

Cosmetic changes, improvements and clearouts are part of our natural desire to improvements for more happiness and simplicity in our lives. You may have felt a real relief when you’ve thrown things out, redecorated and seen that things are neat, tidy, new and spacious. These changes are very important but all too often we stop with making superficial changes to our front rooms, walls, cars and clothes when we actually have a deeper desire for change, space and simplicity in our lives.

You may well be experiencing a real desire to do something more fulfilling with your career and for more depth, love and mutual support and understanding in your relationships. This is a good sign and it’s a very natural call to be who you are and enjoy your life as you desire it.

Our minds are much like our homes. They both get cluttered with old ideas, old attitudes, old conversations, old hurts. Both need a routine cleaning out of stuff that we collected for one reason, and are holding onto out of habit, neglect, or just sheer willfulness.

Spring cleaning your life is a very natural thing. You cannot pour more water into a full glass. You need space in order to invite new things into your life.

Pursuing a simple, sustainable, flexible, happier lifestyle means that you have to choose it. And that means choosing to lose some other things. It means getting rid of things that no longer work for you, it means updating the way you do things, it means freeing up some space for new and exciting opportunities and challenges.

Simple steps like watching an hour less TV, dropping negative relationships, taking lunch breaks at work, eating well and taking half an hour to yourself a day can create more time in your life, reduce stress – and enable you explore and create your future and can transform your life overnight.

Just like cleaning your home, a mental Spring Cleaning takes a dedicated effort, a conscious choice to make changes in your mind the same way you make changes in your décor.

I invite you make a commitment to start spring cleaning today. Choose the areas you want to clean up and devise a plan of action. Start by asking yourself some questions. Ideally, what do I want this area of my life to be like? What do I need to get rid of? What do I want to put in its place? What is getting in the way of this? Where am I now in this particular area? Look at the difference between where you are now, what you want to clear out and ideally where you want to be. Now break this down into smaller steps. Steps which feel achievable for you and will take you forward. Take the first step forward today. A radical spring clean puts the zest back into your life and gives you the freedom to think bigger and reach for the sky.

Here are some ideas to get you started on a Spring Cleaning for your Life:

Have a full home spring clean to calm, focus and improve your daily life
Give all you haven’t used for over six months to friends or charity – it relieves you, helps others and allows space for new opportunities

Have a thorough desk / file clear out – it will focus you and ease stress
Our computer’s also gather clutter so clean out old documents and clear out your in box
Handle every piece of paper and email once wherever possible
Arrive and leave on time – sounds simple – make it a habit
Start and end the day with a clear desk – this reduces ‘back to work phobia’.
Go out of the office at lunch to ensure you take a break – more productive less stress
Regularly schedule time in your diary for your family, friends, interests & holidays
Avoid squabbles / personality clashes focus on your priorities.

Now take a moment to look at your life and routine – imagine you are looking at it from a hill. What would it be like if you spring cleaned your environment, focused only on positive relationships, reduced junk food and TV and spent a little time every day to work on what you want from your life? Picture yourself doing it. Now go for it. Set aside an hour today to start taking steps that will spring clean your life and invite in success that could last you for ever. Remember: Invest in your self and your progress - there is no wiser investment.

What dust balls of behavior are lurking in your life? Are you bothered by bad habits, old ways of thinking, or the simple inertia that makes life less sparkling than it could be? Spring is not only a good time to freshen up the house, it’s a great time to take a critical, yet compassionate look at your life and decide what needs to go, get dusted off or replaced for a better daily existence.

Sweep out the old. We all have useless litter in our lives. This might be a bad habit you’ve been meaning to get rid of. It could be a negative personality trait you’d like to change for the better. It could be a draining relationship. Sometimes we get so used to “being” a certain way that we lose sight of our ability to actively scrape the negative from our life.

Life cleaning solution: Once a year, do a life review. Write down the less-than-attractive aspects of your life. Then think of at least one action that would move you toward reducing or eliminating any unnecessary mustiness. For instance, if you always scream and curse at other drivers (alone and/or with other people in your car), find a mantra that reminds you to be more patient such as: “They’re doing the best they can,” or “Their agenda is just as important as mine.” You could also replace a negative action with a positive action that helps someone else. When we focus on helping others our best self almost always shows.

Air out your attitude. Cynicism, fear, self-sabotage, pessimism, denial, envy – these can take the shine out of any life. Also, it’s easy to give too much attention to the difficult aspects of our personality and our life. Consider where your attitude might fall on a negative to positive meter. A little self-awareness is the first thing required to enliven a virtual fresh breeze. Recognition followed by intention and action will help reveal the natural vividness and confidence buried under an encrusted attitude.

Life cleaning solution. Find inspirational quotes and post them to remind you of a desirable state of mind. Or make a list of all the positive benefits of a renewed point-of-view. For instance, acting more friendly toward people you encounter each day would potentially gain you new friends, make you more attractive to others, and draw positive people into your circle of acquaintances, to name a few potential benefits.

Get organized. Sometimes our lives get messy not so much from negativity as from inertia. Inertia results in half-done tasks littering our mind and never-ending to-do lists. Inertia lets many good intentions go moldy.

Prioritize the elements of your life. Consider what is most important: career, family, friends, health and fitness, a romantic relationship, travel or a special interest/hobby? List the desired elements of your life in order of importance. Each day take five minutes to review how your schedule aligns with your priority list. Is there something that you spend time on that is not really a priority, and takes up too much time? Name a step you could take that would change that. Enlist the people who have an effect on your daily organization and schedule for help. Be creative with solutions. Offer to swap child-watching duties with a friend each week so you both get some “me” time. Negotiate with your boss for a later arrival/departure time one day a week so you can go to the gym.

Life starts fresh each day. So make sure that you’re not trailing along yesterday’s trash.

< Prev		Next >

Search this website for South African Women's interests. If we don't have what you are looking for click here to make a suggestion.