Mom and Mark

Have you ever noticed that you can’t get some things done until you’ve leaped other hurdles? Some tasks take up so much psychic energy that they make any other task that takes some mental energy seem impossible. For example, I recently took my mom to Connecticut to visit my disabled brother, Mark. It was Mom’s first trip anywhere for almost four years. Even though I’d made all the travel arrangements and had made the trip many times before, this was the first time I was taking my mother to Connecticut since I’d become aware that she has some serious cognitive deficits. Because of her age and her deficits, I had no idea how she would do on the trip. Would it exhaust her? How would she behave? How would I handle managing Mark, whose brain injuries have left him with mobility and behavioral issues that can be challenging, AND my mother? After all, I was the conductor of the Connecticut symphony–the Mom and Mark visit.

I had no idea how big a psychic block that trip was until I got home. I felt so relieved! Even after a grueling nine and a half hour drive back, I had energy. After unpacking and settling back in to my life at home, I was excited and energized about getting back to my business, to writing and working to promote my new membership site, the 12 Month Clutter Clearing Community (www.ClutterClearingCommunity.com).

The same thing happened when I was preparing to give the “Move That Mountain: Clutter Clearing Tips for Staying the Course to Completion” speech the past few weeks. It was a new speech, and typically new speeches are tough to create and present. It’s a risk to step out of my comfort zone and present new material. It was as if I was getting ready to give birth to some new information, information that is near and dear to my heart, information that is difficult to present. I was feeling anxious about whether the way I planned to present it would work and whether I’d be giving my audience information they would value. That was big psychic clutter! I had some other important items on my to do list that I just could not focus on until I’d presented that speech. Once the speech was done, I rested briefly, and then was off and running again–tackling writing projects that had been waiting for weeks.

Have you got any big obstacles blocking your forward progress? What can you do today to move them out of your path? If moving them isn’t an option, know that when they’re gone you’ll likely enjoy a pleasant burst of energy from having leaped those hurdles.

© 2012 Clutter Clearing Community | Debbie Bowie

“Author, Organizing Expert and Feng Shui Practitioner Debbie Bowie, is a leading authority on clutter clearing to attract more of what you want in your life. If you’re ready to finally clear the clutter from your life and move your life forward, get your FREE TIP SHEET, “Feng Shui Tips for Instant Success” at http://www.clutterclearingcommunity.com.

Today I found myself thinking that since I’ve been keeping only the hottest of my “to do” items on my desk, writing my book, blogs and news tips has been easier to do. Keeping many fewer distracting papers out and visible has made it easier for me to go inside, access ideas and put them into writing.

Now, you’re probably wondering where all the rest of the papers went. I filed many of those that I knew I wouldn’t deal with anytime soon. I can access them when I’m ready. They don’t have to stay in an overwhelming pile in my line of sight.

The rest that I might take action on sooner than those I filed are in a basket behind me on top of a filing cabinet. They are out of sight, but not out of reach! The only papers on my desk are those I intend to do something about this week. That stack is much smaller than the total stack of all I’d like to get done.

Just think of how much important wisdom you could access if you weren’t distracted by piles of paper! How can you make them disappear and still access their information when you need them?

Just back from a trip to New England to visit my disabled brother, I looked at the dimmer switch extension cord sitting on my counter. It had been there for about two weeks. I felt a surge of irritation. That’s what happens when something has negative energy. In this case that energy came from the fact that the cord was out of place and that I thought it might be broken.

I bit the bullet and walked over, grabbed the cord and plugged it into a lamp. I flipped the switch and it worked. Good news! Now all I had to do was figure out why it hadn’t worked with the lamp that needed it. That was easy after I’d taken that first step.

What had kept me from taking the first step for two whole weeks? Yes, even fairly anal retentive Debbie Bowie does procrastinate from time to time. As I reflected on the cause of my procrastination, I first realized that I had created an effective mental barrier that kept me from taking action. When I looked at that cord I shut myself down by thinking that it MIGHT be broken and by focusing on the fact that I didn’t know exactly what it would take to figure out if it still worked. The task SEEMED so huge, in my mind!

Truth be told, there was another barrier, perhaps the primary barrier, that kept me from jumping on that annoying task.  I was scheduled to go out of town to visit my brother, a long, potentially stressful trip. It took all the energy and time I had to get my ducks in a row to leave, especially since it was my first solo trip to visit Mark. Fixing the cord just didn’t rank up there with travel prep. 

Once the trip was done, however, it was easy for me to push through my mental resistance. I was able to muster adequate mental energy to problem-solve the situation because I wasn’t distracted and drained by a more pressing priority.

Wow! How often do you find yourself shut down by your inaccurate thoughts? What’s blocking you from completing tasks you really want to get done? Check out the barriers and remove them one by one. I promise that you’ll feel a real rush of pleasure and a surge of energy when you persevere, do battle with your mental and physical barriers, and get things done.