Wherever we are and whatever we’re doing, we all have the ability to Step It Up. The quality, impact, effectiveness—and maybe even the length—of our lives depend on it.
So why don’t we do it? Why do we keep playing small when we know we’re capable of so much more?
We may think our reasons are personal and unique, but I suspect that in most cases the real reason for not Stepping It Up is the same for everyone. And it’s so basic and mundane it’s almost always overlooked.
The culprit is clutter, plain and simple. Or rather, it’s the mountain of clutter we’ve spent our lives constructing: physical clutter, mental clutter, emotional clutter, the clutter of things left undone or not being attended to. It doesn’t matter how few or how many categories we have for it or how different one type of clutter seems from another. Clutter is clutter is clutter.
We can’t reach for the stars by climbing that mountain of clutter.
We may manage a few steps, but inevitably we’re sucked back down into all that…stuff. We won’t get anywhere by trying to manage or rearrange our clutter, either. Let’s face it; we have developed the habit of creating clutter. We have become clutter junkies. We’re convinced we can’t live without it.
So we rationalize, justify, and explain it away.
Or we deny we have a problem.
Or we admit we have a problem but insist we’re working on it.
The result is always more clutter. Yes, our attempts to deal with our clutter add to the mountain of clutter. So do our failed attempts to Step It Up. In my experience, this is the real “law of attraction”: clutter attracts more clutter. It’s as if the mountain of clutter has magnetic properties. The more undone, unfinished, messy stuff there is in our lives (the bigger our mountain of clutter), the more likely it is that we’ll just keep adding to it.
Clutter is not innocuous; we pay a huge toll for keeping it in our lives. Clutter not only takes up physical space, it also uses precious mental resources. Clutter that preoccupies us taxes our brain’s bandwidth and can literally make us dumber, at least temporarily, by as many as 10 to 14 I.Q. points. The effect is like being sleep deprived all the time. This kind of preoccupation also negatively impacts the brain’s executive function, which results in diminished ability to focus our attention and a decrease in self-control.
The absurd thing is that whatever we’re not doing or not dealing with is likely taking up more of our attention than it would if we were actually doing it or dealing with it. But habits are hard to break. For clutter junkies, there’s only one way out: we have to get rid of the mountain of clutter. Pick a corner, start shoveling, and keep going until it’s all gone. No excuses, no rationalizations, no explanations. Just do it:
- Clean it out
- Fix it
- Address it
- Replace it
- Finish it
- Toss it out
Then declare yourself a clutter-free zone!
If you’re in the market for a New Year’s resolution, this trumps the usual suspects. Not only is it simple, straightforward, and all-inclusive, but the results are guaranteed to surprise you and may even provide you with a brand new view of the world.
Wow! Awesome post, especially the title! No clutter in this masterpiece. I’m reblogging!
I was going to ask you earlier when this was posting, and so I was delighted to see it TODAY! I would go one step further and not only say that it trumps any other resolution you could make, but it’s the best gift you can give yourself in this season of such activity. In fact, I’ll say that in my reblog. THANKS for this post! I for one totally need it.
Reblogged this on Container Chronicles and commented:
Have you ever felt like you were suffocating with all the physical, mental, and emotional stuff going on in your life. Here’s a challenge worth considering if you want to get out from under all of that clutter. I’m taking on my clutter. Who wants to join in? (using your own clutter of course!)
Thank you, so much! The “farther I go,” the more I see how critical this is. No matter how many times I see it, say it, or realize it afresh, it really can’t be overstated. Our clutter is keeping us down and holding us back.
We could hold a Going Out of the Clutter Business sale–Everything Must Go!! 🙂
As I read your post, there is one interesting characteristic of my physical clutter that may also apply to my mental clutter. For about six months I have wanted to really clean my apartment – a one bedroom apartment so we are not talking about a huge task. I get about 2/3 thirds through cleaning and – I find something else to do. Needless to say, the clutter quickly returns. I’ll think about whether cleaning my mental clutter is similar – later 🙂