Appreciating Yourself

At Saturday's Clutter Busting Your Life Webinar, one of the participants wrote in, "My problem is that I've "started" 100 times---I've never finished. One cluttered area spills into the next."

I said that we can be hard on ourselves about the efforts we make during a clutter bust, but that tends to add to the clutter. It can help to remember that when we're clutter busting, we're often feeling fragile. We're overwhelmed. It helps to recognize that we're hurting and bring in some gentleness. It helps to see that whatever efforts we make are golden. They are an effort to help.

There's no ideal to fulfill when clutter busting. If you sit down amidst your things for an hour and let three things go, that's great. That's three less things that are distracting you from what matters in your life.

When I work with clients, they often initially get frustrated and say, "I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. Am I your worst client?" I let them know I appreciate the efforts they are making towards healing their lives. I ask them to notice the space they've created so far. I want their attention off the rest of the things that they haven't gotten to yet. It's the attention on "everything" that makes us overwhelmed and makes the task seem impossible and unbearable.

I'll put my hand in the space that used to contain the items that my clients have clutter busted. I'll say, "How does this space feel?" They'll reflect on that space. They usually say that it feels peaceful. They like the space they've given themselves. This is the healing starting to happen.

At the webinar I said the main ingredient in the clutter busting process is kindness. That's what makes it work. You may feel stuck and feel like you're getting nowhere, but it helps to stop and ask, "How can I be kind to myself in this moment? What can I say or do for myself that will be gentle and healing?" And then see what comes up.

One of the webinar participants wrote in, "I just got a flash of a song lyric..."Love the one your with"...which is ME!"

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This Saturday August 11th at Noon Central I'll be doing the next Clutter Busting Your Life webinar. I'll talk about how to kindly spot and remove the clutter from your life. You can tell me about your clutter situation and I can help you discover a solution. You'll be learning the powerful life skill of how to let go. Plus there's a lot of support from the other people who are attending.

The webinar costs $10 and lasts for one hour. The registration link is to the right. Once you pay via PayPal, you will receive an email within 24 hours that provides the link to the webinar. The webinar is sponsored by SpreeCast.com. You will need to join SpreeCast (it's free) to interact with me and others in our webinar this Saturday. I hope to see you on Saturday!