We are now in autumn in the UK, the leaves on the trees have started to change colour and drop to the floor.

On my early morning walks I’ve noticed how lovely the autumnal trees look against a sunny clear morning sky. It has made me think that nature provides us with so many beautiful scenes and also gives us valuable insights if we take the time to notice.

Autumn can be a season of transformation for us. I, like many people consider it to be the perfect time to take some time to reflect, evaluate and plan. It’s a good time to consider how the year has been and how you have fared against goals and desires that you had for the year.

This enables you to decide if any outstanding personal and professional goals are still relevant. If they aren’t then you can decide to let them go. Alternatively if you feel that they’re still appropriate you can formulate a plan of action to meet them by the year end.

It’s also a good time to take stock and determine where you are in life. You can start to turn your attention to what you would like to create and experience in the New Year. This helps you to start your planning process and to start planting seeds for things to blossom in the spring.

You can think about how you can bring greater balance to your life and what will increase your happiness. Consider if there’s anything that needs to change with regard to your job or business, diet, general health and fitness, sleep or relationships?

Alternatively are there bad habits that you would like to let go of? Ask yourself “What am I no longer willing to tolerate in my life?” You can then turn your attention to what healthy habits you would like to create.

We may feel that we have mental clutter, feel overwhelmed or are simply spending too much time in our head. We may also feel like we have some physical clutter that we need to dispose of.

Clutter is defined in the Oxford dictionary “as a crowded and untidy collection of things.” That’s certainly part of it. For me clutter also relates to things that are no longer needed or used, disorganised and untidy or crammed into a small space. It’s also anything that is unfinished or incomplete

Like trees shedding their leaves, autumn is a good time for us shed anything that no longer serves us, weighs us down or that we no longer need. We can let go of things both mentally and physically. Letting go of some mental clutter allows clarity to enter our mind. When we purge physical clutter it helps to create some space in our life for new experiences and things.

The letting go process helps us to simplify our life and as one of my favourite quotes by Leonardo Da Vinci says “Simplicity Is the ultimate sophistication.”

When we decide to let go of things or commit to change, it requires some effort and determination. Letting go of things isn’t always easy to do. Taking the first step and beginning the process is often the hardest step and we can procrastinate. However once we have taken it, we can start to create some momentum.

This particularly applies if we are looking to change a long held habit or behaviour. However, it is good to remind ourselves what the long term benefits of the transformation will be and how it will be worth some sacrifice.

When I am undertaking a decluttering exercise, after filing and boxing things up that are to be kept and stored, I find it useful to put the physical clutter into various boxes or piles:

  • Things to be thrown away
  • Things to be sent for recycling
  • Paperwork to be shredded
  • Items to give to charity/others
  • Possessions to be sold
  • Articles that need to be repaired

This week, why not take a few moments to reflect. Ask yourself what you need to let go of and no longer need. What will be your first action step?

This week’s quotation:

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

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