How About a New Beginning and a Fresh Approach?

1. Reflect on 2011…all sorts of things may have happened that felt like real challenges and created a lot of stress…AND, I invite you to go back through last year and make a list of all that you accomplished during 2011. (I like to take out my calendar and review it during this process.)

• Think about the things you did at home that you felt good about—some home repairs or improvements, cleaning out a drawer, a tool shed or a flower bed, preparing special meals, creating new recipes. And how about at the office as well?
• Think about the joy you brought to a friend, a neighbor, or a store clerk, for example, because you took the time to say thank you, offered them a ride, cooked them a meal, watched their children.
• Think of the support you received from someone.
• Think about the events you planned, the vacation(s) you went on, the surprise gift you received, the letter(s you wrote or card(s) you sent.
• Think about the progress you made on some project—at work, at home, as a volunteer, an employee, an entrepreneur.
• Think about a book you read, a workshop you attended, a talk you heard that inspired you.
• Think about something new you learned—figuring out a new smart phone or software program, getting on Facebook, connecting with old friends and making new ones.
• Think of other new discoveries, new adventures, new learnings, new insights, new growth experiences.
• Think of the people you spent time with who made you feel good.
• Think about family members you love unconditionally, and those who love you.

2.  Take time to be grateful for everything on your list (and remember, you can always add to it as you as think of more). Recognize that, no matter how many challenges and disappointments you may have had, there were a lot of things that lifted you up and brought you some sense of joy or accomplishment—that warmed your heart.
It’s easy to dismiss these things, or not even take the time to make this list, but when you stop, recognize and acknowledge things that are working in your life—even if they seem very small—there is often a shift in your thinking that begins to move your forward. Start paying attention to what IS working!

3. Review your 2011 list and recognize how much you survived, lived through, and actually enjoyed! Then as you’re thinking about what you want to accomplish in 2012, or if you get a little bit discouraged, remember all that you did in 2011!

Feeling better about yourself puts you in a better frame of mind to tackle some new challenges and create more of what you want in your life. How much easier it is to start your New Beginnings with a smile on your face!

New Thought for 2012:

I am choosing to experience an ever-increasing sense of clarity, peace, order, balance, harmony, joy, and freedom in my life.

And so it is!

What if you thought you could get organized? Wouldn’t that make you feel better? Yes, but how do you do that?

Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or cannot, you are right.”

The key is to pay attention to your thoughts and practice changing them.

When you find yourself saying “I can’t get organized,” start saying, “I can get organized!” Little voices may pop up, but when you keep practicing this new thought, something shifts. Organizing one small space starts the process. Acknowledging that you have organized this one space can inspire you to organize another space, and another.

The key is to train yourself to acknowledge any thing that is already organized—your calendar, your checkbook, your silverware, your hobby supplies, your music, etc. Notice the order in the night sky, the rising and setting of the sun, the design of a flower, the books at the library, merchandise in a store or arrangements of pictures on a wall. Look for order everywhere.

Author and psychologist Wayne Dyer says, “If you focus on what you really, really don’t want, you’re going to get more of what you really, really don’t want.” Conversely, if you focus on what you really, really DO want, you’ll get more of that. What do you really want? If you want more order, focus on order. Find order, acknowledge it, and pretty soon your thoughts will change and it will be easy for you to say, “Yes, I can get organized!” Better still, put that in present tense and proclaim, “Yes, I am getting organized!”

Think about family members, friends or neighbors who might enjoy using some of the things you have. Think about charities you would like to support—including shelters and services for those less fortunate than you. If you have extra coats or sweaters, for example, think about the people who have none, and how grateful they would be to have something warm to wear in the winter.

A client loved clothes, her closets were jammed, she had recently retired, and her life had changed. She heard about a local non-profit that provided free wardrobes for those needing outfits for job interviews and for work.  Once she pictured in her mind how much others would enjoy wearing some of her beautiful clothes, she got inspired and within two weeks had taken more than four carloads of skirts, pants, blouses, sweaters, jackets, shoes, scarves, purses, jewelry and other things she once treasured to this wonderful destination. She was thrilled to finally be able to pass these things on—in the midst of it all she exclaimed, “my stuff is just flying out of here!” And it felt so good to have more room in her closets for the clothes she kept.

Before you start sorting, think about where your things might go. Make a list of the people and organizations who might appreciate having what you are not using. Keep these destinations in mind, and your sorting can go more quickly and be much easier. It can be exciting. It can be very satisfying. It can be magical!