Posts tagged hope
Ways to Easily Make Next Step by Joyfully Losing Your Negative List

Yes. It’s still officially winter, and our recent run of several warm days has reverted to colder temperatures. Despite the fluctuating thermometer, I notice hopeful signs of spring as nature begins its blooming ritual. Frequent sightings of green plants push through the ground to greet the blue sun-filled sky. They don’t hesitate. After being dormant for months, rejoining life with gusto is their next step.

Nature’s confident growth got me thinking about things that prevent us from moving forward.

  • How about the mile-long to-do list?

  • Is yours dormant and paralyzing?

  • Or are you actively working on it?

  • Is your list meaningful and necessary?

  • Or is it filled with tasks that aren’t essential and you don’t care about?

  • Is your list so daunting that it brings up negative feelings, regret, and disappointment?

  • Or instead does it inspire you to act?

If you are struggling to determine your next step, here is a novel idea: Lose your ‘negative list.’ Crumple it up, let it go, and say buh-bye! That might sound radical, and perhaps it is. But can you imagine doing it anyway? And if you did, what might happen?

 

What’s On Your Negative List

Things holding you back can be concrete or emotional. They might include things like:

  • Thought loops with messages such as “I can’t” or “I’m not good enough”

  • Projects that would be nice to do, but realistically you’ll never get to

  • Thank you notes that are years overdue

  • Plans you wanted to make with friends or family, but never did

  • Piles of magazines with articles to clip and file

  • Stuff inherited from other people’s lives to sort and edit

  • Papers and objects representing previous careers or life stages to curate and edit

Without realizing it, I had a negative list. It included feeling bad about not yet:

 

 

Make Your Next Step Easier

It may sound too simplistic to lose or release your negative list. However, recognizing how it might be holding you back makes it worth trying.

Maybe you’ll decide you still want to attend to some things on that list. And if so, perhaps a reframe of how you think about that ‘thing’ will make the difference. For example, instead of the projects you’ll never get to demotivating you, celebrate the ones you have accomplished. Review the remaining ones to decide if one is worth pursuing. If so, think about it as a project you get to, not have to do. Release the rest.

As Oliver Burkeman says in Four Thousand Weeks, our time is limited. “The average human lifespan is absurdly, terrifyingly, insultingly short.” We will never get everything done or be able to pursue every possibility that exists. Burkeman says, “we’ve been granted the mental capacities to make almost infinitely ambitious plans, yet practically no time at all to put them into action.”

Recognizing these limitations can be freeing. Don’t try to do everything. Instead, let go of what is holding you back and pursue what’s most meaningful and necessary.

Selecting next will become easier. Guilt will be gone. Action and intention will rule the day. What comes next will be joyfully embraced once you are unencumbered by the lingering tasks you’ve chosen to release from your list.

The average human lifespan is absurdly, terrifyingly, insultingly short.
— Oliver Burkeman

What’s Next?

I might forgo choosing a new word and motto this year and even skip a deeper review of 2024. Just considering that option makes me feel lighter and more energetic. After all, I imposed these things on myself, and I can just as quickly release them from my list.

My next steps will prioritize energizing and nourishing actions, projects, and ideas. What will be next for you? What can you release that is holding you back? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

 

  

How Can I Help?

Do you want support organizing, planning, or figuring out your next step? I’d love to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – local feel with a global reach.

Please schedule a Discovery Call, email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, or call 914-271-5673. Change is possible, especially with support.

 
 
How to Encourage Change More from a Joy, Not Dread Perspective

When you think about change, which emotions bubble up? As someone who has observed, experienced, and helped others make changes, I’ve noticed many reactions. When anticipating change, we can experience mixed emotions, including fear, frustration, anxiety, doubt, overwhelm, sadness, ambivalence, excitement, relief, and hope.

Emotions are powerful. They can paralyze or propel us, depending on which ones are in play.

  • What if you could stack the deck in your favor?

  • What if you could shift your perspective to encourage a more joyful experience for your desired changes?

  • How would that alter your journey?

When you think about making a change, it can feel enormous, confusing, and unreachable. For example, let’s say you feel overwhelmed and frustrated by the clutter and disorganization in your life. You want things to change but don’t know what to do or how to begin. As a result, you do nothing.

A common organizing philosophy encourages breaking down large projects or goals into small, doable parts or tasks. Using this strategy is an effective path forward. You keep the larger goal in mind while focusing your effort on tiny, baby steps. This process reduces overwhelm and facilitates forward movement.

  

Encourage Change by Shifting Your Perspective

During a recent meditation and writing retreat led by my friend and colleague, Yota Schneider, she shared an insightful question. We considered it in a particular context around focusing.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I recognized how you could use the question to encourage change through a lens of positive expectations.

The question Yota shared was from neuropsychologist and author Dr. Rick Hanson. He asked,

“What will I be glad I did today?”

I appreciate the question’s simplicity and graciousness. What will I be glad I did today? The question has several fascinating effects.

  • Contemplate – It invites you to consider joy, happiness, gratification, or satisfaction as the driving force. In other words, you are taking action inspired by this positive perspective.

  • Strengthen – It offers a nonjudgmental inquiry while strengthening activation confidence. You imagine this positive change or task as if you have already accomplished it. The question boosts agency.

  • Reduce – While it doesn’t overtly state this, the question implies a narrower, singular focus. Dialing down the possibilities to something smaller can reduce or eliminate overwhelm.

  • Imagine – It merges present action with positive, immediate future results. You are doing something now that you will be happy you did later today.

  • Build – Using this question to navigate change gently promotes a repeat-and-build pattern versus a one-and-done method.

  • Act – The question is non-confrontational. It’s even kind of fun. You’re focusing on how good you’ll feel or “glad” you are when you do that thing today. 

Encourage change through a lens of positive expectations.
— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

Work the Present and the Future

Once you gear your mind toward a “glad I did today” focus, you will experience many positive changes that connect with your larger goals. Here are several of the positives I’ve experienced recently and the change categories they influenced. I am glad I:

Relationships – Nurture and Strengthen

  • Celebrated my husband’s birthday

  • Cooked with my daughter

  • Sent packages and notes to our kiddos in advance of Valentine’s Day

  • Had assorted conversations with friends, family, and colleagues, including a friend I hadn’t spoken with in way too many years

Professional – Lead and Learn

  • Completed the edits and returned my chapter for a new ICD book on chronic disorganization

  • Led a planning meeting for my organizing colleagues for NAPO Westchester

  • Had virtual organizing sessions with my clients

  • Wrote my blog

Finances – Manage and Build

  • Gave our accountant a preliminary tax summary

  • Paid bills

  • Reconciled accounts

Household – Maintain and Edit

  • Cleared out the 2024 files and set up the 2025 files

  • Did laundry

  • Added a few clothing items to the donation bag

Well-Being – Calm and Care

  • Scheduled vaccines

  • Didn’t eat that extra piece of cake

  • Took a walk along the river even though it was cold

  • Slept later than usual

  • Went to yoga class

  • Meditated

 


It’s Your Turn to Invite Change

Which categories in your life are you looking to change? What is one thing you can do today that will bring you closer to that goal? With this in mind, what will you be glad you did today? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

 


How Can I Help?

Do you want support organizing, planning, or inviting positive change? I’d love to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – local feel with a global reach.

Please email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or schedule a Discovery Call. Change is possible, especially with support.

 

 
 
12 Compassionate Quotes of the Year That Will Make You Feel Hopeful

It’s an excellent time to reflect on the past twelve months before the new year begins. 2024 had emotional, enriching, and deep conversations on the blog.

We walked together, shared tumultuous times, made exciting discoveries, and navigated life balance. In our free-flowing exchanges, insights and new perspectives emerged.

Meaningful Conversations

Our conversations about life balance, change, clutter, letting go, time management, motivation, organizing, hope, and more provided abundant comfort, connection, learning, and joy.

Thank you for being part of this community. You inspire me to show up, write, think, and engage.

Deepest Gratitude

I am profoundly grateful for your thoughtful words and generous sharing. From your comments this year, I curated twelve of my favorite insights from the most active engagers. Thank you, Ellen Delap, Janet Barclay, Janet Schiesl, Jonda Beattie, Julie Bestry, Diane Quintana, Sabrina Quairoli, Sara Skillen, Seana Turner, Sheila Delson, and Yota Schneider.

You are consistent voices and participants who bring our conversations to life. I am grateful to you and everyone who reads the blog, contributes to our discussions, or shares the posts. You infuse this community with hope, humor, curiosity, perspective, and learning.

Many others have contributed to our conversations this year, including Cathy Borg, Florena Davies, Hazel Thornton, Jana Arevalo, Julie Stobbe, Kim Tremblay, and Stacey Agin Murray. Thank you for enriching our exchanges and sharing your thoughts.

Enjoy the year in review- one quote at a time!

 


12 Inspired Quotes from Our Conversations This Year That Will Make You Feel Hopeful

1. Fresh Start | What Value Does Clearing Clutter Make for Having a Powerful Fresh Start?

Decluttering may feel like breaking the ice or melting it, depending on how much effort is needed to make that fresh start, and over how long, but it’s always worth it!
— Julie Bestry
Asking ourselves if the change is worth the time and energy is a critical first step for anyone looking to try something new.
— Sabrina Quairoli
Humans are wired to work together and have been for thousands of years.
— Sara Skillen
There are so many things we just put up with, whether in our business or personal lives. When we finally recognize that they’re posing problems and take action, the results are amazing!
— Janet Barclay
Understanding the impact clutter has on our mental health is the first step to doing something about it.
— Diane Quintana
When it comes to boundaries, I have learned there is a fine balance between building a boundary and building a wall.
— Yota Schneider
The idea of compelling motivation is a powerful concept.
— Ellen Delap
I am doing a lot of asking for help as there are no alternatives. It’s not my typical ‘shoe to wear,’ but I hope to wear it gracefully.
— Seana Turner
Virtual organizing delivers many gaps when professionally delivered.
— Sheila Delson
Reducing suffering by reducing stuff (stuffering?), whether it’s tangible or temporal, is lifesaving.
— Julie Bestry
Be imperfect, make it simple, notice the moments, and find gratitude.
— Janet Schiesl
I am making changes to my practices over the holiday and just doing a general reset in my life.
— Jonda Beattie

 

Past Reflections and Future Possibilities

What was most significant for you this year? Is there one quote that resonates most with you? What area of focus do you want to bring into the New Year? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

 

How Can I Help?

Let’s make 2025 a great year! Do you want support in creating a better balance, letting go of what no longer serves you, or getting more organized? I’m ready to help. Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward. A local feel with a global reach.

Please schedule a Discovery Call, email me at linda@ohsoorganized.com, or call 914-271-5673. Let me help you create the calm you deserve.

 I wish you a happy, healthy, and joy-filled New Year!

 
 
What Does Your Clutter Feel Like? One Client Shares Insights

When you think about clutter, do you consider how it makes you feel? In the thirty-plus years I’ve been a Professional Organizer, I’ve seen first-hand the array of emotions and effects of clutter on individuals, families, relationships, households, work, and other environments.

Clutter can keep you stuck, and releasing it can have positive, long-lasting effects on your life. One of my clients shared unique insights about the effect clutter has on her. You’ll learn more about it soon. Before diving deeper into her discoveries, let’s look at how clutter can negatively or positively affect you.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS Clutter Can Cause:

 

Positive Effects Reduction of Clutter Can Foster:

 

One Client’s Experience of Clutter

As mentioned above, one of my clients recently shared her profound clutter experience with me during a virtual organizing session. She gave me permission to share it with you. She said,

“Clutter creates chronic inflammation.”

I asked her to tell me more about her perspective on clutter. She elaborated and described how . . .

  • Chronic inflammation is a physical unpleasantness.

  • It feels like an embodied experience.

  • It’s physiological.

  • A cluttered environment makes her feel agitated and angry.

  • Any action taken to clear surfaces in her visual field reduces chronic inflammation.

  • Even tiny decluttering acts immediately solve chronic inflammation.

My client’s description of chronic inflammation caused by clutter describes the physiological connection clutter can have. While the term chronic inflammation was new to me, I’ve often heard clients describe the weightiness of clutter. They explain when clutter is released, it feels like “a weight has been lifted.” This is another example of the potential physiological and psychological effects clutter can have.

Do you know someone who has experienced clutter this way? What feelings and sensations arose?

Clutter creates chronic inflammation.
— Oh, So Organized! Client

How Clutter Feels – A Podcast

Last week, I wrote about clutter’s impact on mental health and well-being. I included links to the interviews by journalist and podcast host Melissa Tracey, who featured me in a Houselogic article and her Housing Muse podcast.

During the podcast, we discussed the relationship between home clutter and its effect on mental health. You can listen below to episode 50: You’ll Never Look at Your Home’s Clutter the Same.

How does clutter make you feel? When you release clutter, what changes do you notice? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

If you are struggling with the weight of clutter, enlist help. Reach out and email me, Linda, at linda@ohsorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or schedule a Discovery Call. A clutter-free life is possible, especially with support.