Are you leaving space in your life for new challenges and new opportunities?
Are you creating space in your body, lengthening and stretching and reaching, to create the life you want for yourself?
For transformation and personal evolution to occur…to fully squeeze the juice out of life…both your mind and body have to be a part of the process. Spring is the perfect time to examine what you can clear out in order to create openings for the new and beautiful things you are building.
But, HOW?! How do I clear out the old to make room for the new? I thought you’d never ask 😉 See the 6 steps below…
1) Consider: First, you need to be aware of what’s clogging up your “space.” What are you holding onto that no longer serves you? Maybe it’s a mindset, an attitude, a perspective, an object, a relationship, weight, a belief, a lingering regret, a painful memory, a grudge, something else…?
2) Brain-dump: Jot down everything that you are holding onto, but no longer serves you. Do it fast and sloppy, without over-analyzing and use a radically honest and compassionate approach as you write and review your list.
3) Act: Once you’ve identified the thing or things that are keeping you stuck…then you can start break down each item and attach an action step for each. The action step doesn’t have to be major, unless you want to undertake something major! Otherwise, something to begin the process of letting go and clearing the stuckness is perfect.
4) Notice: Pay attention to how you feel in your body, the thoughts and the feelings that bubble up as you engage in this exercise. Letting go can be difficult (but is a necessary part of the change process). If you notice yourself hesitating, avoiding, numbing, denying, making excuses, or something else…observe that experience from as much of a non-judgmental place as you can. Maybe you are holding onto comfort…and we all know what happens in our comfort zones – no magic there (see the diagram above). Dr. Seuss coined the comfort zone, “The Waiting Place”…check out what happens there…
“Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plan to go or at the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.”
5) Ask: If you aren’t sure what actions might serve you best, ask for help. Start by closing your eyes and going inside yourself. You are the best, most knowledgeable resource on you. Aim to connect to the wisest part of yourself for guidance. If this is too difficult, try to imagine what your best friend or your closest family member would say. Try to stay away from shoulds and see what shows up when you pause and go inside.
6) Ask – Take 2: Step number 5 not resonating for you? No problem. That’s why we live in a world full of people – you aren’t alone! Ask a friend, a therapist, a mentor, a significant other, a spiritual guide or someone you trust to support you in designing steps that correspond to what you are working toward letting go.
Simply reading through this process, no matter how many steps you complete, is already a jumpstart in planting seeds of awareness for your own growth. It has already begun…
Out with the old and in with new!
