For generations, the onset of spring traditionally brought about the frenzy of spring cleaning among women. As women live more complex lives this tradition has gone by the wayside or farmed out to outside sources.
What can be taken from this tradition is the symbolic act of cleaning out impurities and clearing clutter. Imagine that your mind is the house that you want to get in order. The clutter is your fears, worries, anxiety, negative thoughts, and outdated values you are holding onto. Make a commitment to do some spring cleaning and rid the clutter of your mind!
How do you go about doing this?
Identify the Inner Critic’s Voice
The Inner Critic is a sub-personality within your larger personality structure. Its function is to protect you from criticism imparted by others so it criticizes you first. These inner messages can be deflating, demoralizing, and fear-based. Listening to them can cause low self-esteem, feelings of inadequacy, and hesitancy to move forward in life.
Name your Inner Critic and bring it out of the shadows. This helps to diminish its power over you. Begin to challenge these messages instead of accepting them. You can simply say, “NO, I’m not listening to you today”. Give it something else to do besides micro-managing yourself. By recognizing the voice of the Inner Critic you can truly clear the clutter of your mind.
Become acquainted with the rules of the mind.
Opposing ideas cannot be held at the same time. So if you think a positive thought and then think a negative thought the negative thought will be held in your mind. One or the other will become dominant.
What the mind expects tends to happen. Thinking and holding onto negative thoughts will attract a negative state of being. On the other hand, visualizing and feeling what you want will enable you to bring that into your life.
Creating New Neurological Pathways in Your Mind
Become conscious of what you are letting into your mind. Are you planting new fertile seeds of thoughts or letting the landscape of your mind be overridden with negative thoughts that prevent the new positive thoughts from sprouting? As soon as a negative thought pops into your mind reframe it with a positive thought. Researchers have discovered that we can actually rewire our brains and create new neurological pathways embracing positivity.
Reevaluate your Values
Begin to examine your values. Are they in alignment with how you are living your life? If they are not they are cluttering up your mind. Toss them out and adopt new values that serve your current needs. Your values change as you live life. It’s important to check in yearly to determine which ones no longer serve you.
Taking these actions steps can help you clear the clutter of your mind so that you can begin to create the life that you so desire.
