5 Tips to De-clutter Your Mind!

 “It’s not easy to stop and smell the roses. We’ve trained ourselves to always be thinking ahead.  But if you never live in and FULLY ENJOY the present, what kind of life are you living?”

From Donna Smallin’s

“One-Minute Organizer to Unclutter Your Mind: 500 Ways to Focus on What’s Important”

In our fast paced 24/7 world we live in, it’s challenging to have minds free of all the endless things to do, information to know, places to go, worries for the future and what’s everyone doing on Facebook!

As much as some of these things that occupy space in our minds can be stimulating, many of them can be energy draining.

If we are consistently darting our thoughts around and around….it can seem like we’re on the proverbial hamster wheel…getting no where…feeling tired of getting no where and certainly not enjoying the same ole, same ole feelings we keep getting.

Is it possible break out of that endless spinning of cluttered thoughts?

Yes, it is!

It’s about being mindful.  When you are mindful, you are being aware.
When you are being aware…of those thoughts that are cluttering your mind, you can choose to do something about them.

Why would you want to?

Because, being mindful and aware of your thoughts connects you into the present.

When you’re connected into the present, you then get to choose where to put your focus.

When you choose to focus on one thing at a time….your mind gets lighter…you feel better because you have more energy and when you have more energy, you naturally can connect into your own innate joy.

5 Simple Tips to get started on de-cluttering your mind and finding more joy!

1. Pay attention to your breathing!
Just the simple act of giving your breathing attention will begin to slow down all the chatter of the “monkey mind”.  You know that mind-it’s the one where your thoughts are darting all over the place.  When you change your focus to your breathing, you are making a conscious choice to be in charge of where your attention is!
Do this: As soon as you feel your mind starting to spin out of control: switch your attention to your breathing.

2. Be here now!
Whatever you doing, be present to it. Whether it’s washing the dishes, doing laundry or doing your job, by focusing your attention and energy on what it is your are doing, you using your mind like a laser focus beam for the “now”.
You are not allowing the past, nor what hasn’t even happened yet, to dominate your energy and time.  It’s quite freeing!  It’s being in “the Zone”!
Being in “the Zone”, always feels expansive and joyful!
Put up sticky notes: Be here now!

3. Be Aware of your thoughts!
By paying attention to your thoughts, you give yourself the gift of the present.
There’s no need to judge those thoughts. Simply recognizing them allows you to then “choose” if you want them hanging around or not!
Take 5 minutes a day to practice “listening” to what you are saying to yourself.
In time, you’ll be super tuned in when thoughts you don’t want hanging around start to creep in.  You’ll be in charge and feel lighter, too!

4. Replace “I have to” with “I choose to”!
“I have to” carries a lot of weight and pressure.  It often takes on a life of its own, bringing your thoughts down a spiraling negative tunnel.  Can be pretty exhausting feeling!
Try instead, as you bring a new awareness to your thoughts, to simply replace those heavy “have to’s” with lighter “I choosing to’s” and notice the immediate difference!

5. Connect with people you care about!
It’s easy to get caught up in our busy lives and not find the time to connect in with the people we care most for. This not only feed on all those cluttering thoughts of “I should” “I need to” I wish I had the time for” “I’ll do that tomorrow”, etc., it also deprives you of the important element of connection.  When we connect in to others who we like, love and feel an affinity to, we allow for more joy in our lives. Feeling more joy releases the clutter of thoughts.
Give this a whirl: Schedule on your calendar one person per week you’ve been wanting to be in contact with.  Simply connect via email, phone call, postcard, or a get together!  Watch how your actions change those thoughts, which are bound to lighten your mood!

There are so many additional ways to de-clutter and bring more calm and ease to your mind and to your life.  The important thing is to start now with these simple steps and you will notice not only a less cluttered mind, but more joy to the life you are living!

Share your thoughts on how these tips or any others have helped you in  de-cluttering your mind right down below!