What does it take to make changes in your life?

Clarity

Decluttering isn't just simplifying your life. It's having a vision, setting new priorities, and using those notions to get rid of obstacles. If you don't have the life you want, it's not going to fall into your lap. You have to start with the vision of the life you want. That's what I'm going to ask you to do in every area of your life—to begin the process of achieving the life you want by articulating a clear, realistic vision of what that life is.

Self-awareness

I'm just here to give you a not-so-gentle push in the right direction; the only power that will get you there is you. The only path is the one you design. The only obstacles are the ones you buy, create, or imagine. Don't cling to clutter in the form of anger and frustration instead of letting go and changing. All of us know what we should do to achieve our goals, but we often just -don't do what needs to be done. Instead, we sit around feeling entitled or overwhelmed, waiting for someone else to make the changes for us. Enough already! Once you have a clear vision for the life you want, you need to take responsibility for achieving that vision. Owning your life, your decisions, and your actions is the first step to initiating real change.

Commitment

Change takes time and is often difficult—it's easier to stay with what we know than to embrace the new and unknown. In our world of instant gratification, we give up too easily, saying, “I tried that and it didn't work.” Don't be in a rush to fix every single element of your life in days or weeks. Instead, focus on being honest, fair, and responsible. Clear the clutter from your decision making. Making physical changes to the space where you live takes energy that you can see and quantify, but emotional changes are harder for everyone. However, organization is not something you do—it's a place where you are and a commitment to living in a particular way. If you're experiencing a nagging feeling of frustration or unease, then it's time to clear the clutter and open your life to what is possible.

So get out your metaphoric garbage bags. Let's clear the path to better decision making, clearer thinking, and a fulfilling, happy life that's as close to your ideal as humanly possible.

How clutter can invade all areas of your life  
From Enough Already! by Peter Walsh. Copyright © 2009 by Peter Walsh Design, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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