Last week we talked about living more from intention and less out of habit. I’ve found that one of the best ways to begin living an intention filled life is to clear out everything that weighs us down and to get rid of the junk that often defaults us into our habitual patterns or keeps us stuck. Spring is upon us and there is no better time than now to really set the tone for what we want to welcome into our lives for this year.
Spring cleaning often means we clean out our houses and our spaces. We get rid of old clothes that we are no longer wearing. We clean up all of our piles, magazines, books and newspapers and discard ones that we’ve already read and acknowledge those that we’ll probably never get to. We clear out our closets and underneath our beds. We move furniture around, dust, clean, mop and vacuum every crevice. In doing all of this, we make space for the new.
I don’t know about you, but whenever I find myself cleaning out my spaces at home or in my office, I always feel so refreshed and energized. The cleaning process itself is exciting because I know once I’m finished, my energy can be more focused on life, creating and moving forward while living in a clean and organized environment. This proves especially true when I know I’ve gotten rid of things that I’m no longer using or that are no longer serving me.
Just as we clean out our spaces, we also need to get in the habit of spring cleaning our lives. I truly believe as we clear away the old, unused, unwanted and useless, we make room for the new to arrive and flourish. By clearing away all the clutter and quite frankly all the bullshit in our lives, we pave the way to live from a space that is more reflective of our highest intentions. The junk and drama of life is what keeps most of us stuck, living in actions and habits that don’t really nurture our intentions or happiness.
When there is clutter and unwanted stuff around us, we don’t have much space to invite in anything new or to live from the place of abundance we’re truly seeking. We must get clear on our intentions as it relates to our future. Holding this vision through the spring cleaning process will help us intuitively realize what gets to stay and what needs to go. They say that sometimes the best way to add to our lives is to subtract.
As a life coach, there are three main areas of internal house cleaning I recommend focusing on. We can begin to eliminate things that are no longer invited in to the next portion of our journey with grace and ease by reframing how we look at these areas. By cleansing our mind and body, we step into more happiness, better relationships and a more peaceful state of mind. Here are my tips for how to spring clean your life.
Bad Vibes
Pay attention to the energy around you and go where the peace flows. Start being mindful of how you feel and what your mood is like in different settings. If there are things, places or people who are vibing at low frequencies or causing any level of chaos into your life, spend some time away from them or cut them off all together.
Energy is contagious. Be cautious of who and what you allow into your life and space. Creation, abundance and spirit need positive environments to surface and thrive. You cannot tap into your inner most wisdom and intuition if your atmosphere is full of bad vibes.
The energy we carry often comes from what we submit ourselves to. This plays a huge role in not only our success, but also our happiness. Let us make sure what we are surrounding ourselves with is a true reflection of how we want to feel and who we are aspiring to be.
Being part of the good vibe tribe takes commitment and awareness. Remember that your energy also affects others. You want to be vibing on the highest level to keep spreading your goodness and gifts.
Vibes are like electricity, you either positively affect people or you adversely infect them. Choose your vibration and more importantly make wise choices on what frequencies you decide to cross wires with. High vibe people have a responsibility to protect their territory. Make your mantra: Good vibes only.
Toxicity
Toxins can come in so many disguised forms. Think about a toxin that enters your body and how it wreaks havoc on your internal workings. It causes illness, disease and so much more. Just as toxins are horrible for our bodies, there are toxins that can infiltrate our minds too. Some toxins that mentally affect us can be people, thoughts, emotional baggage, bad habits or addictions.
We can’t live a positive life with negative thoughts or people invading our space. This is the first place to start making cuts. If you are thinking negative thoughts, you will attract negative things. Not only that but negativity keeps us low because it blinds us from seeing good or expressing gratitude.
If someone around you is constantly focused on what could go wrong, how they don’t have enough or that they can’t get ahead, step away from them. They will drain you. Instead focus on spending time around like-minded people who love, support and lift you.
Some friendships and relationships have reached their expiration date in your life. There is no need to try to prolong their shelf life. Toxic relationships do not have a place in the life of an inspired, intentional, successful happiness seeker. If you were looking for a sign to close that door, delete, ban, block, cut off or let go of something disrupting your peace, HERE IS YOUR SIGN. Do it and don’t ever feel guilty for protecting your space. Remember, you have important things to accomplish, intentions to live from and big dreams to reach for.
Bad habits and addictions are the highest level of toxicity to us and they are also the hardest to clean away. I have faced addiction and I have overcome it. It takes a very strong will to make lasting change in life, but when the moment of clarity hits where truth meets commitment, your entire world will shift into a new paradigm. It is available to you if you want it badly enough. That’s a topic for another article, but part of spring cleaning means we must get brutally honest about our hang-ups.
Letting go the stuff that weighs us down frees us to seek that which we truly desire. Not only that but like attracts like. If we are allowing toxic things and people into our lives, it’s as if we are asking for more of it! Stop granting permission to things you don’t want more of.
A rich life cannot be accomplished in a fog of toxicity. Seek higher ground, detox and purify your life. Then watch how you begin to attract more positivity and better people to you as if you were a magnet. In my own process of spring cleaning this has proved true and has been truly miraculous. It is no coincidence I keep meeting new, tremendous people, feel more peaceful and have become even more open to receiving additional happiness, love and guidance.
Resentments
Making amends with our past and people who lived in it is a great way to free up space in our hearts. Let us always remember that our luggage only has so much room and it is so much easier to travel lightly. Letting go of resentment, bitterness and feeling offended is so freeing.
Make a mental or written list of anyone you feel has ever wronged you in your entire life. I understand this list can get lengthy. It’s ok. We all have a list.
Sometimes you’ll find you can remember a person, but you can’t remember the exact details of what you’re even holding on to. These are the first on the list to just cross off. Let them off the hook. You don’t even remember why they are on it.
Then again, some that make the list will take more time to heal, but at least put that process into motion. Set the intention to forgive them, at some point in time. Part of life means we get hurt sometimes. It’s the only way we learn true forgiveness. Sometimes people challenge us. They do us “wrong.” We all make mistakes and no one is perfect. Keep trying to remind yourself of this and how you always need forgiveness and grace extended to you when you screw up. This mindset and intention will help you in the process.
Always remember that forgiveness doesn’t mean you dismiss what they did. What it does is release YOU from the energy it takes to keep replaying it or holding onto it. By releasing resentments, we free up that energy which allows us to use it on more positive and productive endeavors.
Spring cleaning our lives opens us up to new beginnings. It breathes new life into us. We take inventory of what is important to us and it helps us to refocus as we make a conscious effort to organize, declutter and discard our “stuff.”
If it is no longer serving you, helping you to expand or brining happiness into your life, that is a very good indication you don’t need it where you are going next. If it is not serving us, it’s most likely hindering us. By honestly asking yourself if it is serving you it makes things rather clear cut.
I hope this message does serve you. Let it bring about the miracles that are brewing underneath all the clutter. I would love to hear from you. Let me know in the comments of the blog how your spring cleaning goes as well as any experiences you have had in the past or things that have helped you move into a new you. Namaste.
Photo Credit: Play Buzz