I’m here to spread some tough love on you this week! If your life is cluttered, whether that be physically or emotionally, you lack clarity in your life. Plain and simple.

Physical clutter can be detrimental to your health and wellbeing. It can increase stress levels, decrease your productivity, encourage bad spending habits, and can keep you in debt.

If your life is physically cluttered, take a look around. Do any of the items around you align with your values and/or are memorable? If not, ask yourself how those items are serving you.

Clutter can prevent you from getting that promotion you wanted, can make your home feel overwhelming, and can keep you from saving for that vacation you want to take so badly. Is your clutter worth it?

Emotional clutter can be even more detrimental and is often the most difficult clutter to recognize. It drains your energy and prevents you from moving foward. It provides you with excuses as to why you should or should not do something. Emotional clutter can mask itself as helpful, because your brain is trying to protect you. It is trying to keep you safe inside of your comfort zone, so you don’t potentially get hurt.

Emotional clutter includes the self-deprecating thoughts that reside in our heads saying we aren’t good enough or won’t ever be perfect. Other examples of emotional clutter consist of toxic relationships that drain us, the constant comparison of ourselves to those around us, and striving for approval from others.

To be able to overcome all of this clutter you need to get really clear on what you value and what you want from life. You then need to evaluate the spaces you live and work in as well as the thoughts that are no longer serving you. Identify the harmful scripts that are playing out in your mind. Take note of when they arise and question them, rather than accept them as truth. Assess your physical spaces and take note of how they currently make you feel and how you actually want those spaces to feel and serve you.

Make incremental shifts in your mindset or small changes in your space. Take some time to then reflect on those changes, then repeat! Decluttering is a slow process, as it involves the rewiring of the brain and emotional detachment from physical objects. Don’t reflect too long though or your mind could trick you with excuses into reverting back to your old ways.

At the end of the day your work space should inspire, your home should be a sanctuary, and your thoughts should be positive and encouraging.