When do you run your mind tapes during the day? Just before sleep or first thing in the morning? We all do it. The balance happens when we don’t let it cycle over and over and over and… over.
Having peace of mind is essential in creating a balanced life, so discovering why you continue to run those tapes and if there is an opportunity to reduce them is something to consider.
I recently helped a friend settle into a new home, and they quickly realized that the unpacking could be more daunting than the packing. Even though moving into a new environment can be exciting, you’re exhausted from the whole experience. It’s very easy in that mental space to unload and stash away everything to get back to your daily life. It will be there later, after all.
Or will it? Finding things in a pile of hastily stashed away stuff can be frustrating and adds to those mental tapes I spoke of. On the contrary, making time to plan and organize can help both the mind and the physical clutter.
In explaining the bigger picture, I was a bit of a fortune-teller showing how life would be/could be. To eliminate clutter and ease the ‘where did I put that?!?!?’ later, I made more space for my friend by categorizing things. Keeping similar items together in areas where they would be used in the house and storing things together (i.e., holiday decorations) saves mental anguish later.
The same planning applies to day-to-day living as well. We all get in a rush or come home exhausted from a long day and stash things because something else has come up, and you don’t have time, so you’ll tend to it later. Well, if you can find it. Then in the home stretch, it’s time for your flight, and you can’t find your passport. After shredding your home, you find it tucked in a box with financial papers because, in a rush, you laid it down and knew you’d remember it. Surely.
The emotional toll we put on ourselves mounts up. On top of busy lives, adding stress to that by not taking the extra few minutes or even hours at the time can create a negative impact. Your home life = how you are in life. How you show up, how you balance and react throughout your day.
Reduce your mental tapes – and B-R-E-A-T-H-E.
Hugs,
Cyndi