Roll on 2019....
So Christmas is done and dusted. Did it all run to plan? Nope. Did we have drama? Yep. And we dealt with it all. We enjoyed being together, catching up with family and friends and the odd Prosecco. I even bought AND wore bathers! In a pool! What the hell is happening to me?
2019 is now approaching and it’s time to sit down and really think about what it is I want out of life in the new year. What do I want to achieve? How do I want to feel? What do I want to do that will make 2019 different to 2018, or 2017, or 2012? What is going to make the next year my best ever? Because I’m sick of not having dreams. I’m sick of giving up on fake resolutions. I’m sick of thinking that nothing is going to change. Because it is….it already has. I’ve changed. And if you read my last blog, you will see that. My attitude is more positive than it’s ever been. Did we win Tattslotto, you may ask? Nope….I am choosing to change my mindset. I am choosing to look at things in a new way. I am choosing to forgive. I am choosing to talk to myself with kindness instead of hate. I am choosing to stop that exhausting habit of constant negative self judgement and instead deciding to just embrace life. I mean…did you read my intro? I wore bathers! Did I look like a model? Nope! Did my thighs wobble? Yep. But did I totally love being in a pool with my kids and some of my favourite people having fun, laughing at the craziest things and not giving a damn? Oh yes I did. It’s kind of amazing what happens when you just….let go. Let go of the angst, the anger, the negativity. There is actually fun to be had!
So what do I feel like I need to do to have that feeling often, not just occasionally. It comes down to one thing…..
DECLUTTERING.
Decluttering my life is going to be my goal for 2019. Why? Because the clutter around me, both physical and mental, gets in the way of seizing new opportunities. It prevents new thoughts, new ideas, new strategies from being seen. My head is so full of things I have held on to for many years that it blocks the new positive thoughts from entering. That negative mindset that I held on to for so long hangs around like a bad smell. For me, it’s kind of like having a bad habit. This positive thinking doesn’t always come naturally. It takes work to undo the work that bad boy started. Recognising it, as I wrote about in my previous blog, is only the first step. It’s a major step, but only the first step of many in creating the ideal mindset. Life is going to get in the way! Challenges are always going to be there. But if I can somehow declutter my head like I can declutter my wardrobe, maybe it can be out with the old to make way for the new?
I spoke to my husband about how he turned his thinking around and he gave me some ideas. Positive books, podcasts ( I listened to one called “Crappy to Happy” the other day and it was amazing) and being around like minded people were his biggest influences. Great start. Also the positive self talk is huge! HUGE! Don’t let that Negative Nellie in. I need to figure out what works for me and run with it. I’m really struggling with the meditation at home so I think I may have to look into a meditation class to kick start that off. I have a feeling that mindfulness is going to play a key role in decluttering my head.
Now the physical decluttering……
We have a small home. We have stuff. We are not fabulous housekeepers. I so wish we (or one of us) were. But we are not. The clutter in our home stresses me out. Big time. Meditate in a room full of washing ready to be folded? I don’t think so. So I need to get rid of things. When I look at starting, I get overwhelmed and get even more stressed out. I procrastinate because I don’t know where to start. I go to Bunnings because the answers are in the baskets to buy, or the nice looking bin. Then I go have an iced coffee and push cleaning from my mind. It’s just to difficult. And coffee always helps……
So what to do? Get help! The universe has heard me and my Facebook feed sent me a sign. The Organised Housewife (I want to be her…) popped up inviting me to join her FREE challenge. Its called “The Declutter 52 things in 52 Weeks Challenge”. Each week, I will be given a task to declutter something. Structured decluttering! I love it! Once upon a time I would never have signed up to something like this. It would have made me feel like a total failure. But not today! Today I’m shouting from the rooftops that I’m housekeeping challenged and I need help! That negative self judgement is not happening. I’m pretty pumped to start and excited to start my first challenge. Bring it on.
When I looked up a couple of websites on “Decluttering your life” they all said that the clutter we collect along our lifetime (both physical and mental) blocks the the flow of abundance and therefore gets in the way of succeeding at the things that really matter to us. Kind of makes sense in a Feng-shui kind of way. So that’s my goal for 2019. To eliminate the clutter to allow for new things……new thoughts, new experiences, new kitchen, new leather jacket!!?? You never know….
Happy New Year to you all! What are you going to do to make 2019 your best year yet?
Let me know some of your goals for 2019. Maybe we can all help each other out!
Love,
Cherie with a C
xxx