The Power of Positive Self-Talk
In your decluttering, organizing and productivity journey, your inner dialogue has a profound impact. We create outer change in being aware of challenges and taking the steps to ensure clarity. Our inner dialogue will help us as we change and to maintain the changes we are making. I ask my clients to chronicle their journeys by creating these value statements for themselves. Their statements might resonate with you. See what you think.
In the case of organizing
It is more important to have a sense of peace rather than the regret of throwing out something.
Letting go might have a sense of regret. That regret could be short lived or something you remember you lost. It is peace that comes from not living in a cluttered environment that provides long lasting emotional impact.
Life interrupting events will not derail me.
Life happens and you respond, likely as a supporter of someone else or something big. Respond accordingly and then get back to routines. You may be detained in routines, but not derailed.
Okay present Susie, how will future Susie feel or deal with this?
Putting anything off you dread will not make it easier. Be in the moment and take action now for your future self.
In the case of productivity
I know my lane and I want to play in my lane.
Knowing your strengths and where you do your best work is empowering. When you know your “lane,” you can feel confident in your role and your work.
Stick with the plan.
It is tempting to bypass boundaries we have established. Stick with the work plan and the outcome will be best. And, you will be less stressed if you follow your plan.
What was the most important things that aligned with my mission today?
Keeping the big picture keeps you aligned. Prioritizing and acting on what is the most important task or project for the day keeps you productive.
Build a bigger team.
This statement is my reminder that when I get overwhelmed or feel underprepared, a bigger team makes everything better. That means I will seek out a person with more skill in whatever area I need help.
Do you have a mantra for your inner dialogue to keep you on track with your organizing and productivity journey? Try a few options to see what fits you.
I really love that “Stick with the plan!” I can get tempted, midstream, to be either distracted or start rationalizing myself out of something because I’m not enjoying it. I need to remind myself that I made the plan with wise intention, and then just sort of turn my brain off and keep going.
@Seana – so tempting to redo the plan too! Yes, sticking with the original plan gets stuff done.
Ellen- This one feels especially relevant. I had a challenging day last week when I woke up without the Internet or phones and was on a deadline to complete something for the following day. After my initial panic and discovering what the service provider had to say (“It will be fixed in 24 hours”), I had to do a lot of positive self-talk. Because if I hadn’t, I would have gone down the worry rabbit hole and would not have been able to focus on completing my work.
It was more of a “focus on what you have control over” instead of a mantra, per se. There were many things entirely out of my control. So I had to get creative about what would be possible if ‘x’ happened. By the evening, I had completed my work, made alternate or ‘just in case’ plans, and went to sleep, hoping things would return to normal in the morning.
Lucky for me, they were! The Internet was restored, and I gave my workshop without a hitch. YAY!!!
So true @Linda! That is a powerful mantra too!