“He that waits upon fortune is never sure of a dinner.”
- Benjamin Franklin
All
of us can relate to the need to clean out now and then. The clutter
of daily living mounts into piles of things we should deal with, if
only we had the time. This clutter ranges from unopened mail, to clothes
that are never worn or need mending, to overdue dental appointments,
to relationships that are askew. I know that you can readily add to
that list, and that you know exactly what I mean by clutter.
In my popular class, Attract What Is Good Into Your Life,
we begin by looking at what needs to be cleared away in order to allow
good new things to happen. I find that a poor attitude is one of the
biggest obstacles to new beginnings. We grow extremely attached do
old ways of looking at things. We grow so attached that we strangle
the very possibility out of many situations.
I was speaking to a group recently when a man in the audience told
of living through a period when it seemed that all doors were closed
to him. Try as he may, success had eluded him, he said, and he had
also experienced a string of bad luck. During my talk I scanned the
faces in the audience. Most were alert and excited by what they were
hearing, but that one man remained impassive, with a slight frown across
his brow. His body language was saying that he wanted nothing to do
with new ideas.
Oh how I would have loved to work with him! His “personal closet” was
likely cluttered with worn out attitudes and self-limiting beliefs,
and I would bet the concrete areas of his life such as relationships,
finances and self-care could use some cleaning out too.
For Groove Dwellers Everywhere
Our thought patterns are like grooves in an old-fashioned
vinyl record. When our minds are closed down, we get out of bed in
the morning, and it's as though the needle drops down into that same
old groove. Our thoughts just keep going around and around. We get
so buried in that groove that we can't even see what we're shutting
out.
Eventually, if we're strong and emotionally healthy, we get so sick
of the groove that we are able to break out of it. Often there is a
catalyst, not unlike a hand that hits the needle on the record and
causes a screech as it careens over the grooves. That catalyst might
be a change of scenery, or learning about a new way of living. Sometimes
the catalyst is a life- altering event such as an illness or a divorce,
and sometimes it is simply waking up one morning and making the decision
to move on.
Your Year End Clutter Survey
As we end one year and prepare for another, I invite each
of you to do a survey of your “personal closet.” Ask yourself
these questions:
• What attitudes and possessions no longer serve a purpose
for me?
• What is cluttering my life and distracting me from what
is really important?
• What am I attached to that keeps me in an unhealthy “groove”?
• What role does fear play, and what strategy can I adopt
to get beyond it?
• What do I need to do, delegate or dump from my environment
and my attitude?
• What relationships do I need to mend or discard?
• What is the biggest obstacle to my success in 2005?
• (What else should you ask?)
Stay Open To Possibility
Once you have answered those questions, you'll need to take
action. The only way to attract good things into your life in 2005
is to clear out the clutter, then stay open to new possibilities.
Take it from me, a recovering groove dweller: Unless you are willing
to clear away the clutter in your personal closet from time to time,
and let go of your worn out attitudes, nothing good is going to come
your way. On the other hand, when you let go of long-held attachments
and welcome new ideas and gifts from the Universe, you'll be amazed
at what is possible.
Happy cleaning!
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