As with any endeavor we embark on, it is our commitment and consistent awareness of taking a minimum of one small step per day towards our end goal which will dictate our success rate.  Jin Shin Jyutsu (pronounced gin chin jitzu), the ancient oriental art of harmonizing mind, body, and spirit through physiological energy work, is how I came to learn this beautiful quote, More Than Doers, We Are Deciders….

I believe that decisions make or break our progress when it comes to getting ourselves organized.  I heard a quote recently that says, Decide whether Yes or No; it’s the maybe’s that kill us.  For example, while I might be skilled at organizing, I am HUGELY challenged to drink water consistently during the day; that being said, I have a choice to be bigger than the challenge and DECIDE to put actions into place that will move me toward drinking my eight glasses of water a day, hydrating and feeling healthier and more energized because of this decision.

Similarly, when organizing is a challenge, we can excuse ourselves from addressing the challenge by telling ourselves that it’s not our forte OR we can DECIDE to give our vision of peaceful order more attention than our ongoing anxiety associated with watching the clutter continue to grow.  Our inner thoughts about our capabilities dictate our outward environment.  It is critical to believe in oneself before the results will manifest, so start demonstrating, in small actions, that you are more than capable of creating positive change.

I am here to assure you that organizing IS a learnable skill as are most things in life.  It takes time for skills to become habits and to eventually feel innate, like the skill of reading feels to us now.  Did you know that Michael Jordan not only didn’t make the high school basketball team, but his coach told him that he would never be any good; so, he DECIDED to practice daily, and you know the rest of the story…

Today, embrace the belief that you are a master organizer and focus on one area of clutter that is bothering you; DECIDE how you can instantly gratify yourself by either choosing one of my ideas or coming up with your own:

1. Sort through and pitch all the junk mail before you set the whole pile down anywhere.

2. Throw out at least three magazines that are older than a year.

3. Set a timer for 7 minutes, open up the infamous kitchen drawer and quickly remove anything that looks like trash, and walk away from the drawer when the timer dings.

4. Throw away any toiletries that you haven’t used in the past six months or more (because you haven’t even thought of using them) even if there is a bit more to use… I know you can do it.

It’s the ‘all or nothing’ mentality that keeps us from doing the small things that can make a big difference over time.  Remember to celebrate ALL accomplishments no matter the size in order to feed your confidence and fuel your momentum.  We all have the choice to decide how we are going to live our lives and my prayer for you is that you choose the path of MORE LIVING and less stuff.  To Your Success!

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March 2013 Issue