Let’s first go through this very personal perception of what it means to means to declutter the mind...
Let’s make a little drama-queen situation here, so we can get to what is cluttering or decluttering…
Do you know when your intestines are obstipated? Or the opposite way: you go to the bathroom way too many times and have to rush otherwise you’ll have some live scene of the movie “Trainspotting”?
In those cases: your intestines need a declutter. If you’re obstipated that you can’t eat, because there’s too much stuff down there, you feel and look as you have swallowed a whale: you need to declutter the intestines.
Or, maybe you and the toilet became best friends because you have diarrhea, the butt is on fire, you feel drums in your belly, guts are bothering and you feel nausea in the upper stomach? You need to declutter to rearrange digestive traits.
In both cases, the “house “ is in need of cleaning and organization. It needs to declutter.
Now, Set Here A Parallel Route To Your Mental Estate…
Do you feel your mind so obstipated, too much stuff in it, that you feel mentally blocked?
So blocked that you can’t create a reasonable thought without wandering around other millions of issues?
Or on the opposite side, the stuff runs out of your head directly to your words, actions and emotions, like diarrhea: disordered and out of control? Kind of … anything can trigger some sort of storm?
You need to declutter your mind.
1. How Do You Know If Need To Declutter Your Mind?
Let’s make this simple and see if you can relate to this… Do you:
- Find it difficult to focus on one task?
- Normal routine is something hard to bear but you also lack creativity and the things that used to bring you joy only bore you to death?
- Find It hard to make small decisions, as simple as what shirt you’ll dress in the morning or what brand of cornflakes you should take from the supermarket shelf?
- Accumulate and hold on to stuff you don’t need?
- Feel exhausted sometimes by the awakening hour?
- Thoughts of many origins seem like excited electrons pushed by some chaotic source of energy?
- Have physical clutter?
- Have some sort of panic attacks, and/or general anxiety?
Well: if you are recognizing some of these signs, you are having mind-cluttering manifestations.
Of course, this mind cluttering might be a consequence of being overwhelmed with job solicitations as well as emotional ones…
That means you have to put some things in order, prioritize what’s really urgent and important and also do some mental house-cleaning. It will help you see things with more clarity.
So you’ve made a diagonal analysis of yourself and got to a conclusion that sometimes you have some cluttering in your mind.
And you would see benefits from decluttering your mind.
2. What Are Immediate Benefits From Decluttering Your Mind?
If you live in a mental environment of disorder it drains your energy, for it’s frustrating: both physical and psychological.
You don’t get to do what you really wanted and find little joy at the end of the day
The obvious benefits of mental decluttering are:
- You Get Things Done: once it’s clear what’s a priority and what isn’t;
2. You Get To Be More Focus: and that, by itself, is a double benefit because you get more professionally productive in your activities and you find joy in the little things (that friends' company, that coffee, and cigarettes, that sunset…) that warm your day, because your paying attention to it. Full presence;
3. You Feel More Vital Energy because you’re not bearing useless stuff… and it creates room for life to happen;
4. Your Health Improves once you reduce some stress levels.
How Can You Do It?
You put some freaking order in it!
Basically, you need to dedicate some decluttering in two big areas:
- You’re physical environment
- Your mental processing environment (that includes emotions)
3. How To Declutter Your Mind?
These are suggestions that you can use, according to preference and if you need to install some little life changing.
3.1 Declutter Your Physical Environment
That’s the right place to start if you are cluttered with stuff.
Get rid of the excess of things.
If you don’t wear it: give it to someone.
If your drawers are a mess of disorganization: fix that.
That goes for people in your environment too.
If you have people in your life that aren’t aligned with your values and or purposes, stop gathering with them. These people just drain energy and their contribution to your personal growth is questionable.
You'll feel calmer, happier, and more in control of your life.
3.2 Declutter Your Mind With A Check List And Other Small Habits
a) Put up a daily checklist and point in it:
-
- Priority tasks related to work
- Priority tasks related to the household: bills to pay, shopping for groceries, etc...
- Activities related to self-development: book reading, hobbies or physical activity,
- Save space for random ideas, sketches for future projects (you never know what you can grab and start
b) Make sure that your tasks are aligned and serve your Big Picture Goals (I’m sure you have them!).
-
- That includes your online time: is fair to say that you feel better if you scroll l less and select the “information” that is relevant for both personal growth or professional interest.
c) Learn to meditate and or breathwork. Actually, breathwork is an active meditation that also detoxes your lymphatic system.
Meditation is priceless for mental housecleaning.
Regularizes the heartbeat slows the brain down with each deep breath, releases muscle tension. When you meditate, thoughts flow.
But as you are in a position of self-contemplation, as an observer of one's thoughts, distance is gained. It helps to organize ideas and feelings and even to have new approaches to more or less important issues in our lives.
When you get used to feeling this good with meditation, you want some more. It’s almost addictive. Feeling that good.
3.3 Declutter Your Emotions
Let go of the past.
If you like journaling: do it.
If you don’t like the idea of leaving physical traces of your private thoughts for others to read, you can still write it - and then burn. It helps to organize ideas.
But don’t write it at random – do it with a purpose.
Do it with the purpose of letting all out, reframe it (analyzed whatever good and bad the situation brought, even if it wasn’t immediate, every situation is a two-sided coin). Wrap the paper and burn.
I can assure you it works, for I have done it (it was an activity suggested by the mentor in one challenge that I’m in, to raise energy).
Especially for those situations that no longer serve you or a person from the past, that it's gone but you still carry them. They bother, but you put it in the corner of the mind, sweep it under the rug… And once in a while, they haunt you like ghosts of resentment, guilt, or maybe even some covered shame…
Write a letter, analyze the situation, reframe it, giving it the value you want it to have, give it meaning the strengthens you: if you have to ask for forgiveness, ask. If you have to say I love you, say it. If you feel resentment, explain why on the letter, and admit that you no longer wanna carry a burden that isn’t yours, if you are not the one who acted wrong: and let go. You deserve peace.
Burn the letter. Very relieving: as when you empty your intestines. Really.
Might not solve all the problems but, for sure, helps a lot.
The Goal Is To Get Better Every Day!
Decluttered Hugs
From Body&Soul!
References:
https://mindfulsimplehappylife.com/5-signs-of-a-cluttered-mind/
My Favourite Law Of All...
"In nature, nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed"
The Law Of Conservation of Mass
Antoine Lavoisier, 1789
Songs mentioned in the blog
