It is still spring-cleaning month here at Chez/Cher Duyzer (see what I did there?!) and while I am still on my spring-cleaning kick, I want to make sure I tend to every area in my life.
I say often that clutter is much more than physical. We can experience the impact of clutter not only in physical form, but also mentally, spiritually and emotionally as well, so I wanted to tackle those areas too.
By using the holistic wellness quadrant approach, we can look at each of these areas individually and assess where we are doing well, and where we need to invest. Spring-cleaning for our inside self!
The holistic wellness wheel consists of four components: physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. Addressing all four areas, is essential to our overall well being.
I talk about this approach (specifically the physical component), in more detail and offer a helpful de-clutter exercise in my current newsletter. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so here. If you are subscribed and have done the exercise, let me know how it went for you!
We require a ton of energy to move throughout our day and tend to everything that needs our attention. This not only requires healthy food to fuel us and solid rest to keep us going, but also reserving the precious energy we do have, and that can sometimes be hard to come by.
There was a time not too long ago, that I started feeling really low on energy and had very minimal amounts to expend. I needed every ounce of energy I had so I went on an energy-saving diet. I started to pay attention to where I was placing my time and energy and I didn’t realize how much energy I was giving to mental clutter. So much space in my head was being taken up by unimportant tasks or unnecessary thoughts – loops I call them. I spent a lot of time worrying about these loops.
For me, anything not complete or resolved creates this mental clutter. These loops goes around and around in my head taking up all sorts of space and staying open until I consciously address them. This doesn’t mean I have to complete the task in that moment, I just need to be aware that I am letting it control me and my energy and then I interrupt that cycle. I call this clearing the mental clutter.
Mental De-Clutter Exercise:
Think of a task that may be incomplete or not handled yet and is creating stress, worry or anxiousness for you. This could be anything from not having exercised yet today, to not completing a favour for our spouse. No matter how big or small the task, if it is taking up space in our head, it is using our precious energy even if we are not aware of it. If you become aware of a loop, acknowledge it, confirm that it is something that needs to be handled, write it down if you need to, complete it if possible, or mentally decide when you will take care of it, and then move on. Do not give it any more energy until it is time to complete it.
By being mindful of which loops are open and which ones we can let go of, or ‘close’, we can free up space in our minds which then allows for more energy in our body. The energy we save by not letting it leak unconsciously, may just be the extra reserve we need to get us to the gym to tend to the physical quadrant. See how this works?! I love it!
Emotional De-Clutter Exercise:
The same process can be used to address any emotional clutter that may be hanging around. Are there any relationships in your life that are causing undo stress or anxiety? Are you feeling a certain way around a relationship or situation but not saying anything? By not expressing our feelings and emotions in a healthy, positive way, they can start to build up inside and create congestion, just as a closet would if it wasn’t cleaned out and organized after each season. Open those emotional closet doors and have a look inside. It may just so happen that there are situations that can be addressed or resolved, freeing up space inside of you. And as we release that stagnate energy no longer serving us, we clear space and allow for more beautiful energy to move in.
A few other ways to address mental or emotional clutter:
- meditation
- journaling
- spending time in nature
- moving the body (emotions move through the body physically)
There is an opportunity in each area of the holistic wellness wheel (the four components again being: physical, mental, spiritual and emotional) to create rituals of self-care and love and spring time offers us the ideal time to revisit our choices. Just as we would our pantry, taking an inventory of what is empty, needs to be replaced, or has gone stale, allows us to toss out what we don’t want and make room for what we do. Then, by consciously evaluating what we are willing to put back in our ‘pantry,‘ we become more aligned with our authentic self and are able to design our external experiences from that place.
For more ‘spring-cleaning’ and space creating tips, stay connected for the month of June. And if you haven’t already, sign up for the newsletter for more valuable and insight-provoking exercises to assist you in this process!
Live well,
Cher
