How Clearing Out The Old Makes Way For The New

Clearing Out The Old To Make Way For The New

Let’s clear out the old to make way for the new shall we?

Sometimes life just needs a little shuffle up to clear out the stagnant energy.

All too often we HUGELY underestimate how these things build up and create a huge amount of issues for us day to day. 

Because it seems too obvious, as is often the way, we just ignore it. 

Clutter in our surroundings, our digital lives and what I call ‘mind clutter’, those recurring thoughts and issues that just take up space without resolution, really has a profound effect on our own energy.  

On our ability to ‘show up’ in the world. 

It can cause us to procrastinate, feel overwhelmed or irritable. 

It has an effect on our ability to work and our decision making processes because even though we think we can ignore it, it’s there niggling away in the background.

That pile of receipts we need to sort, the paperwork we need to file, the dust bunny on the floor we can see in the corner of our eye, our email inbox, our desktop…urgh. 

When you really take a second to look at this it makes perfect sense that it would have a big effect on you day to day.

There have been many studies into the effects of clutter on a person and they showed that it increases the stress hormone cortisol.

Over an extended period of time this is then creating a long term sensitivity to stress. Meaning your capacity to cope starts to dwindle and shrink.

You’re hardwiring stress into your brain and body so this is of course going to affect what goes on in your day to day. 

Let’s be honest it can feel like sensory overload too sometimes. 

It can often show up as a feeling of knowing something is wrong but not being able to quite put your finger on it.

But it’s really not just in your physical environment.

It’s more and more important these days to clear out the old in your digital environment too.

Your computer, your inbox, the apps on your phone, closing your tabs!

It’s also important to look at your emotional environment. 

What’s taking up headspace right now? What are the thoughts playing on loop?  What are you avoiding that’s taking up mental capacity?

It might feel a little daunting thinking about where to start.  The trick is to just start!

It may take a little time and it’s not always going to work to get it all done in one go of course BUT when you realise the huge effect it can have on your emotional wellbeing, your productivity and your health then it’ll give you the motivation to keep going with it. 

You’re going to feel happier, calmer, more in control. 

You won’t be living in a distraction zone! All these little things are taking your attention, consciously and unconsciously. When they’re gone you’ll be more focused.

You’ll feel better about yourself too. 

You’ll feel like you’re winning at adulting.  

When we feel like we’re literally walking through a to-do list of things that are never getting prioritised it can really give off a sense of failure. Of not being capable and competent and then that follows you into the rest of your life. 

Doing this exercise of decluttering your life allows you to clear out the mind clutter. 

It clears out the energetic clutter allowing new and better things to flow in. 

It helps you make better decisions. 

It will increase your creativity. 

There are so many benefits to doing it but it’s just one of those things so many people put off. I do it every few months and I’m about to do another big clear out in the next couple of weeks. 

It’s easy for me to do now, because I did it that first time and really paid attention to the results. So it’s a no brainer to do it again and again.

Often when we’re in a slump or feeling meh this really can be a simple way to shift that. 

You just need to look at feng shui for about a second to realise clutter is a no no. 

The belief is that clutter literally stops new things from coming to you. It stops energy flowing. 

If you’re even mildly on the woo spectrum of curiosity you know how big that is. You’re messing with your flow!

If you’re distracted by ALL THE THINGS, how are you going to focus on what needs to happen to move you towards the things you really want in your life?

So as the warm weather starts to draw to a close, have a think about where you could start with your decluttering. 

What takes up the most head space and causes you the most frustration?  

Is it your physical environment?  Your digital one? Your emotional mind clutter?

Which can give you the biggest shift if you focus on it first?

Where can you give yourself an easy win?  

Could it be your desk draws?  Sorting that paperwork?

Might it be organising your desktop or creating a filing system for your emails?

Give yourself an easy win, get that dopamine hit and let it drive you to sorting the next draw or cupboard. 

Take it room by room, drawer by drawer.  

Another thing I love about decluttering is finding all those lost hidden treasures you’ve forgotten about too!

If you want the biggest effect to be on your work, start with your office!

I’ve said it many times before and I’ll continue to say it. Don’t ignore the things that seem too simple to have a big effect.  They are the things that can give you a huge transformation.  

Let’s go on a little visualisation tour for a minute. 

Close your eyes and allow yourself to take a minute to create a picture of what it will be like for you when everything is clean and clear and there’s space for the energy to flow (as long as it’s safe to do so of course!) 

Allow yourself to visualise and think about how you’d feel in your body and in your mind if your space is clean and clear. 

What does it feel like in your body as you walk into your work space? 

As you walk around your house.

What does it feel like to wake up to clean and clear spaces and go through your morning routine? 

What do you notice in your mental clutter when your space is clear?

How do you feel about yourself knowing your physical environment is clutter free?

Now imagine you sit down at your computer in a space that inspires you and feels good. 

You open that computer and your inbox is clear and filed. Clutter free! How does that feel?

You think about your to-do list and you actually feel organised. How does that feel?  Do you feel in control? Can you feel focus?

Your G drive, trello, click up or whatever system you use allows you to clearly see what needs to be done. 

And then you get to work.

You can pause and stay in the visualisation a little longer or you can come back to it.

How did that feel?

It really can be that simple. 

Huge profound shifts can happen from taking a little bit of time to clear your physical space, your digital space and when it comes to your emotional space and mental clutter you can start to use journaling, meditation, brain dumps. 

There are tonnes of tools I talk about all the time, most of them tucked neatly in the Positive Pants Toolkit app too of course. 

It can feel daunting so don’t look at the whole mountain, just the next step.

As part of this process, when you’re wanting things to change or trying to bring something new into your life it’s so helpful to do an audit of what’s taking your energy away from it.

Is it people in your life? Products or programmes you’re running? Habits you have?  

Have a think about what you’re holding on to that doesn’t ‘spark joy’ for you anymore. 

I’m off to plan my decluttering and auditing now too so please do DM me on Instagram and let me know if you do yours!

Fx

Fran Excell, Success Mindset Mentor at www.franexcell.com – Helping Business Owners & Executives Overcome Stress & Self Sabotage so they can get back their time, get off the emotional rollercoaster and feel more in control. 

RESOURCES:

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