Taking control of our
possessions helps us to take stock and reflect on the rest of our lives.
Many of us struggle to keep an
orderly home or workspace. What's the big deal, we tell ourselves, if things
are a little messy? Unfortunately, in truth, the tidiness of your external
surroundings can have a bigger impact on your inner peace than you might think.
In other words, your overflowing desk drawers and jumbled wardrobe are not a
trivial issue. They're getting in the way of your happiness.
Importantly, clearing up our stuff
and taking control of our possessions can give us a sense of control in other
areas of life. Just consider the author's friend, who once remarked that when
she eventually cleaned and organized her fridge, she finally realized that she
could change her career as well.
What's the connection between your
fridge and your work life? It all comes down to the promise of new
possibilities.
When the food in our refrigerator
or the dirty clothes in our laundry basket start to accumulate, we feel a
creeping sense of paralysis. Working ourselves free of the mess we've created
can start to feel like an insurmountable task. So we freeze up and get stuck in
a trapped frame of mind.
But when we finally shift all that
clutter or throw out all that old food, our sense of hopelessness will be
replaced by a feeling of renewal. And we'll start thinking about the future
again: what do we want to buy, and what sort of lifestyle do we want? This is
what happened to the author's friend. As she was throwing out old mayonnaise
and jam jars, removing stains and carefully arranging her condiments, she saw
that there was a possibility for her to change her working environment too.
Crucially, getting your external
world in order also means prioritizing the here and now, as well as looking to
the future. Once you're no longer crowding your house with those giant stuffed
toys your children played with as babies, you'll be able to reflect on your
family as it is right now, not as it was several years ago.