Dump your New Year’s resolutions and CLEAN instead. CLEAN stands for Completely Lose Everything and Anything Negative. New Year’s resolutions are about making changes in behaviors or habits. Most resolutions don’t work because our capacity to change is limited by all of the “stuff” we carry. Many of us are too preoccupied with life concerns to focus on fleeting behavior changes. It is hard to redirect energy to something new when life uses so much of it. Because of this, resolutions quickly become relegated to the end of our priorities list.
I listened to a news spot in which a psychologist eloquently described how to create an effective New Year’s resolution. She talked about writing a resolution that is similar to basic goal setting. You state an outcome, set a deadline and establish action steps. So often, we do not do the groundwork that helps us to reach the desired outcomes.
Think about planting a garden. Before planting seeds, the gardener should prepare the soil to make sure the seeds have the best opportunity to grow. The gardener may rake to clear the land or plow to turn the soil over. He or she may add fertilizer to enrich the soil. Tree branches may be trimmed to allow more sun to hit the area. Without proper preparation, the seeds may never grow.
Before making a resolution, it’s important to take actions that create space for the behavior change you want to achieve. The first step in creating space is to clean out all of the junk you don’t use, want or need. Get rid of everything and anything that impedes your ability to reach your outcome.
Happyhalfhour.club believes that “hardworking professionals who want to be happy” can benefit from cleaning. For this reason, for the next few weeks, we are going to talk about ways to CLEAN up and CLEAN out. First of all, cleaning provides clarity, allowing you to see what is real. Secondly, clearing the clutter gives you an opportunity to see what is really there. Finally, clarity allows you to make healthy choices and decisions.
We will focus on the areas that influence your daily life. Join us as we challenge you to CLEAN (Completely Lose Everything and Anything Negative.) We will post a new blog weekly to happyhalfhour.club and post daily reminders to Instagram and Facebook.
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