How to spring clean your life, not just your house
We are well into Spring now, with all of its promise of re-births, new growth and fresh starts.
Even if all this optimism hasn’t inspired you to Spring clean your house, tidy up the garden for Summer or de-clutter your workspace, it is common at this time of year to feel like a change is needed in our lives – but where to start?
In this post, I share some ideas of things you might want to consider Spring cleaning from your daily life to help you feel less stressed, happier and more fulfilled.
1. Ditch one energy zapper
Those little tasks we feel we have to do but when we think about doing them, a little sigh escapes from our mouth. They are different for each of us, but making a list can be helpful.
Then choose just one and ask yourself if you could delegate the task to someone else? This could be in the form or giving it to another family member or colleague to do or paying someone else to do it. Don’t hold on to doing it yourself just because you think they won’t do it to your exacting standards!
2. Get over one limiting belief
We all have them. That statement that we believe to be 100% true about ourselves that stops us taking action towards our goals. If you aren’t sure what yours is, try noticing when you use phrases like:
I’m not very good at…
I’m not a… person
I’ll never be…
Then ask yourself if this is really the truth or just a story you’ve told yourself because it means you don’t have to do something that scares you a little. Ask a trusted friend if they think it is true, as they are likely to give you a more honest appraisal.
Once you’ve identified your limiting belief, take steps to stop it impacting your life. Try changing the narrative to:
I can get better at… if I…
I am a … person when I trust in my own abilities
I will be… or I can become…
3. Banish one energy vampire
Is their one person in your life that drains your energy, isn’t supportive of what you want to achieve, or you just don’t like spending time with?
Ideally, you’d cut them out of your life completely, but depending on who they are that can be tricky. Instead, perhaps think of ways you can spend less time around them, such as having a reason why you need to leave ready so you can bring the conversation to an end quickly, changing which route you take or activity you do so you don’t bump into them as much, or focussing your attention and conversation on someone else nearby who you do enjoy the company of to minimise the other person’s negative impact.
4. Replace one bad habit
We all have them and feel guilty for doing so. But are they really that bad?
If the habit is negatively impacting your long term goal then it’s best to try and knock it on the head by replacing it with a new, more positive habit – for example, if your goal is to eat more healthily or lose weight then replace that chocolate bar at 4pm with a piece of fruit or a few nuts.
Or if you have a glass of red wine once or twice a week after a stressful day, then ditch the guilt. If it becomes more than once or twice a week and you are drinking levels of alcohol that are regarded as unhealthy, then replace some of those glasses with a mocktail – you’ll get the same dopamine hit without the ill health effects.
5. Let go of one thing
Regrets, anger and past hurts all eat us up internally and cause us unnecessary stress in the present.
“Anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
It can be incredibly hard to let something like this go, but when we can, it can be the most liberating and life-changing experience.
Start by understanding why it is important to let it go. It’s not about exonerating the person who caused you the hurt or about forgiveness, in fact it’s not about the other person at all. It is about you feeling happier and more at peace.
Acknowledge that you deserve this sense of peace and then work on the letting go part. If you need help to do this, then book a session with me and I’ll talk you through it.
If it feels overwhelming to do all five tips at once, then choose just one of them and keep working on it until it is gone from your life forever, then move on to the next. You get to choose what forms part of your life and what doesn’t – it’s your story, and you get to write it!
Embrace a summer of wellbeing
As we move into June, I am switching up my Seasonal Wellbeing Package to incorporate summer florals into both the head massage and facial components. From now until the end of August, I’ll be using the abundant floral scents of Damask rose, orange flower, Calendula and Geranium to soothe sun-parched skin and boost vibrant summer wellbeing. It’s 90 minutes of pure bliss for body and mind to get you feeling energised and looking great for all of those summer weddings, friends and family BBQs, and holiday vibes.