Month: March 2021

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci.

Last week was March 1 and this marks the start of spring in the UK. I love this time of year; it’s been lovely over the past few weeks to see the bulbs starting to flower. It has been great to see Daffodils, Crocuses and Snowdrops amongst others lighting up gardens and the countryside.

I always see spring as a time for renewal. It also signals to me that it’s time for me to reflect and consider if there’s a need for me to let go of anything, to declutter and simplify my life. I feel that clearing clutter helps to create some space for growth, new projects and adventures.

Completing a decluttering exercise always provides me with a sense of completion and accomplishment and it energises me. It also sharpens my focus, provides clarity on my key priorities moving forward and somehow makes me feel lighter.

Clutter is defined in the dictionary as a “crowded and untidy collection of things”. That is true but it is only part of the story and describes clutter on a physical level.

A more complete definition would be:

• Items that you no longer need, want or love.
• Things that are untidy and disorganized.
• Too many things in a small space.
• An overloaded busy mind, with too many priorities to focus on.
• Anything unfinished. This can be projects or emotions.

Clutter can affect us on a physical level and have a negative impact on our energy levels. It can lead us to feel tired and lethargic and make us feel stressed and overwhelmed. Valuable time can also be wasted as we search for things, for example, looking for a document in a pile of papers.

It can weigh us down, make us put things off, procrastinate and keep us stuck in the past. As a result, we may not be able to “see the wood for the trees” and there may be no room for anything new to come into our lives.

Disposing of clutter is an important part of the change process and aligns with the Socrates quote “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new.”

Pause for a moment and consider how much of your life, home and workspace is taken up with clutter.

Clutter prevents us from focusing on what’s really important and valuable to us, our key priorities and the people closest to us. Everything we have has a call on our attention and therefore the more clutter we have means that more of our energy is tied up in mundane matters.

When we clear out the clutter, it allows us to focus and put the important things in our life into perspective rather than being bogged down in the details of day-to-day maintenance.

The process of clearing clutter is all about learning to let go. It isn’t just about letting go of the belongings but the feelings and fear that keep us holding onto an excess of stuff.

Life is constantly changing, so when something comes into your life, enjoy it, use it well and when it is time be prepared to let it go so that you can experience new things.

As well as physical clutter, our minds can become overloaded and we can suffer from mental clutter. This is a bi-product of the modern world and our access to many forms of technology and distraction.

It’s said that our conscious brain can hold just 7 bits of information. Is it any wonder then that we can sometimes feel overloaded mentally given that we’re exposed to millions of bits of information every day?

This week, why not pause for a moment to reflect and consider if it’s time for you to let go of anything that you no longer need.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” Voltaire.

There’s an old phrase “to assume is to make an ass of you and me!” I had a reminder of this last week.

I popped out to pick up a parcel and in the course of doing so I lost my wallet containing my driving license, bank and loyalty cards. A quick search of the area and trip back to the shop I visited didn’t enable me to find it. Therefore, I placed a stop on the cards and reported the loss to the Police. I made an assumption that I wouldn’t get the cards back and that they would be used fraudulently.

Thankfully my assumption proved to be wrong. I got my cards back the next day as a result of a conversation with a supermarket checkout worker. I mentioned that I’d lost my loyalty card. The lady asked if I had lost my wallet, as one of her friends had posted on social media the day before that they had found one locally. She took my details and promised to check for me. It turned out to be my wallet!

I felt very fortunate and surprised how a casual remark led me to be reunited with my lost property.

My experience reminded me of the following story which is a good reminder to guard against making assumptions.

The Cookie Thief by Valerie Cox                              

A woman was waiting at an airport one night. With several long hours before her flight, she bought a book and a bag of cookies. She then found a place where she could sit and do her reading.

She was engrossed in her book but noticed that the man beside her was grabbing some cookies “from the bag between.” She tried to ignore the situation because she wanted to avoid making a scene.

The situation continued for some time. As she read and munched her cookies, the man was continuing to eat the cookies, too. She also continued to ignore him but she told herself, “If I wasn’t so nice, I’d blacken his eye!”

Then, finally, there was only one cookie left. The man took the last cookie and broke it in half. With a smile on his face, he offered her half and ate the other. She took the other half and thought, “This guy has some nerve, and he’s also rude. He didn’t even show any gratitude.”

Right there and then, she wanted to say something but her flight was called. She gathered all her belongings and headed for the gate, refusing to look back at the “cookie thief.” She boarded the plane and continued reading her book.   In the middle of the flight, she reached into her back pack and “gasped with surprise.” She found her bag of cookies inside it.

“If mine are here,” she said, “then the cookies we were eating were his and he tried to share them with me.” It was too late to apologise. She realised that she was the rude one and the thief.

This story teaches us about the danger of making assumptions as they can lead us to make poor judgements and be mis-informed. They can also create unnecessary conflict and uncertainty.

It’s far better to ask questions to build our understanding, find clarity and get to the heart of situations than to incorrectly assume we have the answer! It can save energy as we don’t have to use our brains to create stories.

When we ask questions, we may uncover opinions and views that are different to our own. We might not expect the answers we get or agree with them. In this case, it’s worth reminding ourselves that life is all about opinions and that what’s right for one person is not right for others.

Having different perspectives and viewpoints is good in reaching better and more balanced solutions. I believe that diversity of views and ideas is something to be encouraged. Time spent having a greater tolerance of people who have different opinions to our own helps build our capacity to influence.

This week, why not pause for a few moments to reflect. Ask yourself if there’s a situation where you’re making an assumption and need to ask questions to get some clarity and develop your understanding.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk