Can you relate to this picture?  I know I can.  Sometimes it is easier to make progress when you put everything you can find into a pile, then work on that pile. 

Last post, we talked about attacking the attic – and in my version of spring cleaning, I was talking about your mind.  When you attacked your attic, what did you find?  Let’s put it all in a pile so we can work through it. 

What’s in Your Pile?
If you are like most people, your mind is full of memories, dreams, hopes, fears, worries and that’s just the conscious thoughts!  You also have unconscious habits, triggers, and limiting beliefs.
There’s so much going on in our minds all the time, and much of it we are unaware of because it occurs in the subconscious mind.  Since we are generally unaware, we often think we can’t control it, but that’s just not true.  It may take a little bit more effort to change subconscious thinking, but it can be done.  Still, we have to start with sorting the pile we’ve created.

How will you sort your pile?

My wife used to watch a show called Clean Sweep, where a team would come in to a messy house and makeover a couple rooms.  The first step was to empty everything out of the rooms, then put everything in 3 piles – a keep pile, a toss pile, and a sell pile.

What will you keep?

If you were to take everything out of your mind, what would you keep?  When you choose to keep something, it means you want to put it back in your head, so this option should only be for things that serve you – positive memories, helpful habits, and desired dreams, for example.

What will you toss?

Now, what would you toss?  Whatever thoughts, ideas, habits, memories, or limiting beliefs that are no longer serving you should be tossed.  Simply throw them out.  Yes, I know it sounds simple, and it can be…but we humans like to complicate things.     When there’s a lot of emotion attached to an event, it’s hard to simply let it go.  In cases such as this, I suggest working with a coach to breakthrough the barrier, or you can try my NLP Coaching CD entitled Erase the Waste.  (There’s also more about breakthroughs that actually last on the free audio page…at least for now!)

And what can you sell?

Finally, there’s the sell pile.  Now, you’re probably thinking, what can I sell from my mind?  I think you might have some ideas worth selling stored up in there.  If you don’t, what about things you could share?  Rather than sell what’s in your mind, share it.  Like your goals and dreams – we often push ourselves harder when we’ve shared with someone what we want to achieve.  You can find a partner to hold you accountable to doing the activities that will get you to those goals and dreams.

Remember…One step at a time…

The first step is to start. Many of us stop before we even start – for many different reasons.  One of the main reasons is overwhelm.  So, to address the overwhelm, remember to take it one step at a time.  It would be impossible to empty your mind completely and sort though it ALL, so start small.  Take some time to examine your life and identify one obstacle you’d like to overcome.  Then search your mind for all the habits, thoughts, beliefs & emotions related to that one obstacle – whatever comes up, comes up.  Then look through that pile, bit by bit, and figure out what to keep, toss, and sell.
Share with me now – what’s one obstacle you can identify in your life, and what would it look like if you didn’t have that any obstacle anymore?