Meeting
your soul is not a onetime event but a moment-to-moment deepening, an
ongoing rite of passage from who you thought you were to who you really
are.
—Living
From The
Inside Out
"I can't get no satisfaction!" sang Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. If you're feeling dissatisfied, unproductive, or sluggish, perhaps it's time to clean up your act. An environment in disorder and disarray drains our energy, dissipates our effectiveness, and diminishes our mental clarity. Clutter, in other words, occupies our attention and distracts us from playing a bigger game in life. By uncluttering our life, we can create space for what we really want.
Since everything is composed of energy, everything takes up space. As you get rid of physical, mental, and emotional clutter, you make more room in your exterior and your interior world. And with the additional room, you can design your ideal life with space for new and wonderful things. If you clean your closet, you create space for new clothes. If you release an old belief, you make room for a novel idea. If you forgive someone, you let go of an irritation and can fill it with something positive.
Have you ever noticed how great you feel after you clean up an area of clutter? Recently, I was feeling tired and unproductive. Every time I passed by my garage, its disorder slowed me down. My messy garage was zapping my energy. I knew I needed to clean it but I resisted taking action. What I resisted, persisted. Finally, I asked for help.
With the assistance of a friend, we tackled the nitty-gritty one corner at a time. We created four distinct piles—throw out, give away, recycle, and reorganize. "Do you really need three hammers?" my friend inquired. No, two will be sufficient. Put one in the give away pile," I replied. "Where do you want to store your gardening supplies?" asked my buddy. "Let's put them in the northwest corner," I advised. Before long, my companion discovered an opened can of tennis balls. "They've lost their bounce; time to throw them away. OK?" "OK," I echoed. We were on a roll—clarifying, reducing, and organizing all the items that had previously tugged on my attention. Four hours later, the garage was clean and orderly. I was delighted—feeling like I was on top of my life instead of being buried at the bottom of it.
Our ability to be productive and successful can result from reducing clutter in our surroundings. Letting go allows us to gain greater levels of energy and vitality and space to enjoy our creative potential. One of my clients who accepted a new job across the country decided to use his move as an opportunity to elevate his effectiveness and efficiency. He chose to take with him only items that accurately represented his self-worth and level of excellence. His criteria for selecting things consisted of asking himself two questions, "Does this represent who I am?" and "Do I consider it a number 10?" Unless it met his newly determined standard, it stayed behind. No longer was he bound to a memory of who he once was. In essence, he raised the bar for a high-quality life and demonstrated that he was not going to settle for anything less. Shortly after arriving at his destination, he called to tell me that not only was his new job ideal but also that he was dating the woman of his dreams! He was ecstatic, enjoying the increase in his personal productivity and his natural ability to attract success.
Satisfaction is a direct result of effective action. Perhaps it doesn't sound glamorous but cleaning out clutter is taking the first step toward creating space for what you really want. Would you like a different job, an important promotion, a new client, or perhaps an essential relationship, a valued friend, an innovative insight, or heightened satisfaction? If so, start where you are, roll up your sleeves, and clean up your act. Address the mess head-on. Like Nike says, "Just do it!" Cleaning up your external world creates room inside your internal world, making it easier to focus on important things and increasing your ability to take advantage of new opportunities.
Your capacity to play a bigger game in life is directly proportional to the extent you handle the small stuff. As you free yourself of clutter, you upgrade to a life where—"You can get some satisfaction!"
Feel free to share this inspirational message with friends, just keep the copyright and credits intact. If you enjoyed this article and would like more practical guidance to soulful living, read Dr. Jean-Marie Hamel’s book, Living from the Inside Out.
© 2004 Jean-Marie Hamel