I'm AWAKE!

I often get caught up in the past. Isn’t it easy to bring yesterday’s baggage with us into today? Sometimes I might even check baggage from months ago…It could be as simple as criticizing myself for making a turn that sent me on a ten minute detour to dwelling on an honest mistake I have made. What I don’t often look at is the mental and physical drain it takes on me to focus on the negative. If I dwell on what I can’t change in the past long enough I have little energy or motivation to conquer today. I try to catch myself in those situations and take emotions to a positive plain. And what do you know…I am more productive that day. I only am guaranteed this moment anyway. I notice with many of my organizing clients they bring “organizational failures” into a new project. They talk about a fool-proof tip that failed, how their family doesn’t keep things organized after they fix a room or about their own perceived ineptitude at being organized. While the root problem and unsuccessful attempts are instrumental in helping a client overcome current problems, dwelling on things that can’t be changed from the past de-motivates them. If bursts their balloon of energy and desire to succeed. Part of my job as the organizer is to encourage them and guide them through the journey. On the flip side success takes individual motivation, too. I was listening to a presentation at a business networking meeting last week and the presenter was talking about how her little daughter gets up every morning. Very first thing she will get out of bed and in her pajamas run to the top of the stairs. This little girl will then take a wide stance, throw her hands up in the air and shout, “I’m AWAKE!” What a great, clean start to the day. What would happen if we left our criticisms of our past mistakes at the door when we took up a new project and approached it with a fresh start?