How do you move through clearing frozenness?
It’s happened to all of us. We’re in the process of clearing off a space and we come across something we really want to let go of, but can’t. We freeze — stopped in our tracks by obligation or grief or fear. All clearing efforts come to a screeching halt.
Has this happened to you before?
What do you do?
Things that work for me
When it happens to me, I like to pause for a moment and see if there are any emotions that need some space. This is especially effective for things that I have sentimental attachment to. Old purses. Sweet cards from loved ones. I pause and feel the feelings.
If it’s a more practical item, I like to ask myself, “What do you need?” and really listen to the soft reply that often comes. I also ask myself, “Do you need this? Do you love this? Does it support you and your spirit?” These questions really help me get to the bottom and release the frozenness.
These usually help clarify the next step.
Things that don’t work so well
Well, there’s always good old denial. “Oops! A whole drawerful of miscellaneous power cords?! Let’s pretend I didn’t see that! Moving right along…” When something it too complex or I’m already overwhelmed, this is quite effective – in the short run. In the long run? Stuff doesn’t get released and it builds up.
Saving it for later is my other strategy. I do this especially with binders full of information from classes or workshops I’ve attended and paid good money for. “Someday” I’ll go through them all and make even better use of the material in them. Never happens.
What works for you?
When you’re clearing and you find something you want to release, but can’t, what do YOU do?
Please share your thoughts below…
570 days ago,
Lori Paximadis said:
For me, clearing is easier when I do it in a number of passes, or layers. I can put that hard-to-release stuff aside and let the idea of letting it go sink in. And weirdly, letting the easy stuff go makes it easier to let the harder stuff go. I can’t really explain why. Momentum, maybe? Seeing that cleared space and feeling the expansiveness and wanting more?
570 days ago,
Sarah said:
I often find that I’m willing to move an object along in some ways and not others. If I’m unhappy about throwing it away, sometimes I feel fine about donating it or giving it to a friend.
I also sometimes find compromise solutions: maybe I’m not ready to throw out those magazines, but I can cut out the recipes I want, stash them in a file, and then throw out most of what’s taking up space.
570 days ago,
Mrs Green @ littlegreenblog.com said:
Ah, great post. Especially good timing as the contents of my loft are now in my office as I’ve decided to tackle that monster.
For me my question is “Does this item represent me now, or who I was in the past?” This helps me realise just how much my stuff could hold me back if I don’t keep it in check.
I like your ‘what do you need?’ question and I’m going to use that too.
569 days ago,
JoVE said:
I do something like what Lori does. I think if I let go of seeing the whole thing as having to be dealt with and see it as a group of smaller things that helps.
Then I can identify some stuff that I’m not having a problem releasing. Sometimes the rest just goes back in the drawer, or wherever. But then next time there are things in there that are ready to go.
I’ve definitely done this with clearing out clothes. And it seems to work. I think the key might be not to get focused on getting it ALL cleared but on making progress.
.-= JoVE´s last blog ..Is your inner perfectionist making things take longer =-.