Decluttering is a concept that’s not strictly tied to one’s living space but one’s life in general. Metaphorically speaking, a mental spring cleaning could represent a chance to resolve some standing issues and provide yourself with a head start. It’s also a method of getting a new perspective on life and exploiting your mental capacities to the fullest.
Sure, all this sounds pretty amazing, but what does it mean in practice? How do you do a mental spring cleaning? Here are a couple of tips to help you get started.
Understand Why You’re Doing It
While, in theory, leading a healthier life (from the mental standpoint) should be a reward on its own, a lot of people lack the proper motivation to get started. You see, the term mental wellbeing is “too abstract” and, for a lot of people, it doesn’t hit close to home. So, we’ll try to break it down in order to explain why it’s so significant.
Being under constant pressure (regardless of whether you want to call it pressure or stress) can cause you to develop some physiological difficulties. In general, it leads to:
Other than this, people who are constantly under stress may be more likely to develop serious mental health issues like:
Avoiding these problems alone should be incentivizing enough. However, being in a better mental state will also make you more productive, more focused, and even more charismatic. This means that you’ll be in a better position to achieve some of your long-lasting goals and make something truly remarkable of yourself.
Of course, those who are already experiencing some of the most extreme consequences should probably look for mental assistance. Those who are shy about asking for help could consider a more anonymous approach of looking for a therapist online.
Find an Exhaust Vent
You need an exhaust vent, and this needs to be an interest that meets certain criteria.
Once you find this exhaust vent, you’ll get on-demand access to one of the most efficient coping mechanisms out there. It’s an objective worth pursuing.
Drop One Bad Habit Per Month
While everyone wants to clean up their life right away, there’s nothing wrong with taking things a bit more gradually. For instance, you could drop junk food in the first month. Start exercising next month. Get your sleeping regimen in order on month three, and so on. In a single year, you would be a completely different person.
Sure, some habits are harder to drop, which is why you want to take these things gradually. You want to start from the least to most ambitious projects. This way, you’re gradually strengthening your resolve and building momentum.
The biggest crisis of faith happens before you see the first results. These are the low points during which you’ll experience withdrawal symptoms (literal or metaphorical, depending on the habit we’re talking about), and it will seem like there’s no payoff. Once you get something in return, things will start looking up.
Do Something That You’ve Been Postponing Forever
Almost everyone out there suffers from procrastination (in one form or another and to one degree or another). The only way to triumph over it is to assume the most direct approach possible.
First, you want to make a list. This will make any attempts at mental gymnastics a lot harder. Once you get too comfortable, it will be easy to rationalize how this is not something urgent or important. When it’s on the list, it becomes material proof of your procrastination-inducing hypocrisy. To put it simply, it might shame you out of your laziness. This is also why so many therapists strongly advocate visualizing your goals.
It’s also important that you get yourself going. The hardest part is always getting started. One tip is that you should try doing something for just 5 minutes, even if it means forcing yourself to do it. After these initial 5 minutes, if everything runs smoothly, the chances are that you won’t be able to stop until the completion of the task (or at least the initial objective).
Another way to fight this is through discipline/willpower. This, however, is something that you need to exercise by constantly pushing your limits.
Eliminate Negative People from Your Life
Some people simply have a negative influence on you, and the best course of action would be to separate yourself from these people. This is usually a hard thing to do, seeing as how some of these people might have been with you forever. After all, there must be a reason why you’re still around them, even after the realization that they have a negative effect on you.
There are others who you can’t avoid for… well, technical reasons. For instance, neighbors or coworkers are just going to stick around, and in order to avoid them, you might have to do something drastic like move or change your job. Still, there’s nothing preventing you from limiting your interactions or even emotionally distancing yourself from their impact.
The biggest problem lies in the fact that some of these emotional vampires aren’t directly making your life worse. They’re not borrowing money from you, getting you into fights or legal trouble, or causing controversy. This is what makes their effects on you harder to notice. What they do is just make you feel worse after hanging out with them than you did before. It may seem small, but it’s a luxury that you might not be able to afford.
In Conclusion
Keep in mind that you’re the only one who can get your life in order. In life, there’s no such thing as a point of no return. However, the longer you wait, the worse the situation will appear. Also, remember that all that it takes is a single decision. The sooner you make it, the sooner you get to reap the benefits.
About The Author
Stacey is a freelance writer living in Minnesota with her cat, and she’s passionate about yoga, languages, home improvement, and drinking strong coffee. Find her on Twitter @StaceyShann0n