Warning Signs of Mental Clutter: How to Create Space

Designing a passionate life includes clearing your space by eliminating clutter to allow for your new passions to come into your life. When I refer to space, I'm referring to both mental and physical space and they go hand in hand. nnIt has been proven that our mind keeps track of every physical thing in our lives. Even all of those stacks of papers, projects, emails, files, and books that you are going to 'get to' someday. Most people have a lot of physical stuff and your mind is expending a lot of energy keeping track of it. Then, add in all of thoughts that you have in a day and it's no wonder your mind feels cluttered. Start by answering the following questions to see if you have clutter in your life.nnYour Mental SpacenDo you have a hard time focusing on one thing at a time?nDo you feel stuck?nDo you feel overwhelmed? nDo you feel like you can't move forward?nDo you feel like your creativity is gone?nnnYour Physical SpacenDo you hang onto magazines, books, or catalogs because you think you will read them later?nDo you have piles of mail that you haven't gone through?nDo you have piles of unfiled papers?nDo you have hundreds or maybe thousands of emails in your Inbox?nDo you have hundreds of files on your hard drive?nDo you have any areas of your home where you pile your stuff?nnIf you answered yes to five or more of these questions then you have significant clutter in your life. It's time to take action. Notice the area around where you are sitting right now. Is there some area of the room that is cluttered? Perhaps there are stacks of magazines, newspapers, or unread mail. Take a look at it and notice how your body feels when you look at it. How long have you been saying you are going to go through those piles and get rid of what you don't need? Where do you feel it in your body? What goes through your mind when you look at the clutter? What do you say to yourself?nnWhere you feel it in your body will be different for everyone. Simply notice it and use it as a signal to you that clutter is consuming your energy. More than likely you say negative things to yourself about not clearing away those piles. This negative self-talk drains your energy and pretty much ensures that you won't clear the clutter. It is a self perpetuating cycle. nnAction ItemsnPick one area of your home that is cluttered, perhaps a bookcase, a closet, a file cabinet, or your desk and take one hour to clear this area. Challenge yourself to throw out more things than you are comfortable with. Come up with a question to ask yourself when you are evaluating whether or not to throw things out. Possible questions could be: When is the last time I had the desire to read this? When is the last time I had the desire to do this project? What am I saving this for? nnWhen you are clearing clutter error on the side of throwing rather than saving. If you end up with 70% of the same stuff after you are done cleaning, you didn't throw out enough. Ask yourself a deeper question; What am I afraid will happen if I throw this out? What emotions or memories are attached to this item? If something has sentimental value but you will never use it, take a picture of the item and create a memories album and save the memory there. nnFor one week, take an hour a day and clear out clutter. Notice how you feel physically and mentally when you are done. Answer the mental and physical space questions again. If you feel a positive difference then it may be time to de-clutter an entire room. nnMake space for the passions you want in your life. Start living passionately now.