How to Organize your Mind and Your Life
Managing your mind is like organizing your home.
It requires both daily tidying up and periodic deep cleans. We all have 60,000 thoughts running through our head every day. Imagine what that would look like in a room in your home.
We all have thoughts that are repetitive and programmed- they don't need to be organized deliberately because our brain does this very well.
However, some of these repetitive and programmed thoughts are the ones that lead us down paths that we don't like. "I need a drink to deal with this," "I can't relax without a drink" or "I don't want people to think that I am no fun if I am not drinking." These are the thoughts that need to be organized!
Imagine that these thoughts are stuffed back in the back of the closet. They are out of sight and seemingly harmless because they don't require conscious thought or effort.
But they are very much impacting your life because you end up drinking more than you like.
Think of your daily thought download as emptying out the thoughts that are bing-banging around in your brain. At first it will feel like this is pointless because there are 60,000 thoughts in there, what is 10 min going to do?
This is the tidying up work. Just like putting your clothes away after they come out of the laundry rather than letting them pile up and get overwhelming.
And then over time, the closet needs a little extra love, and you decide to clean it out.
We have all read the organization articles or watched Marie Kondo, so we are familiar with what to do. Make piles for items that you want to keep, donate and throw away.
You can do this with your thoughts as well!
As you look back over your thought download, answer these questions:
Is this thought serving me?
Do I really want it?
Is it current or outdated?
Would I choose it again today?
The beautiful thing about cleaning out your closet, or your mind, is that you make space for the new. You can make conscious choices about how you want to think.
Being organized is the best way to manage your mind at the highest level.
Here are some prompts for a deep clean of your thoughts about your past.
List some circumstances or events from your life - organize them into columns of negative and positive.
List the thoughts that you have about each of these events.
As you look through these thoughts- answer the questions about each of them. Is this thought serving me? Do I really want it? Is it current or outdated? Would I choose it again today?
This is powerful work, but you have to actually do it, not just read about it and contemplate it for a few minutes. There is a big difference between understanding something intellectually and having hands on experience.
If you would like some help with this practice or with learning how to drink less and create a life that you love, I am accepting clients right now and would love to talk to you about if this would be a good fit for you. Click here to schedule some time for us to talk.
Take care,
Caroline
