Eliminating Clutter Starts in the Mind
I just started a new business and it requires a lot of thought, focus and juggling of facts and figures.
After a year of easy, breezy freelancing as a magazine and web site writer, now
I have to deal with contracts, lawyers, accountants, taxes and people. Lots of different people.
I no longer have the luxury of having a cluttered mind.
How does a clutter-minded person unclutter? That's been the big question since I started this business.
It's fun to have useless thoughts when living a leisurely life, such as:
-I don't care what anyone says, actress Gabourey Sidibe is way too young to be that fat. She's going to kill herself way too early if she doesn't drop about 100 pounds. I'm not exactly a stick myself, but I'm not prancing around, acting like I think I'm hot.
-Tiger Woods hiring Ari Fliesher to handle his PR was so stupid. Who would want George Bush's paid liar to be their mouthpiece? An idiot, that's who.
-If you drive in the fast lane and even one single car passes you on the right, move the fuck over and stay out of the fast lane, ya big stupid.
If you drive a Prius you're already saving gas. There's no reason to drive 50 mph and under so you can save more gas, you cheapskate.
-Buzz Aldren is 80. Watching him on Dancing With the Stars is gross, not just because he can't dance worth a shit, but because he leers at his dance partner like a dirty old perve. I'll bet he used that man on the moon bit to get a ton of poontang back in the day.
-Miley Cyrus isn't even 21 yet, but to me she already looks like tired old trailer trash. And her voice sounds like 20 years of bourbon and Marlboro abuse. She's totally icky.
-Seriously, Amy Winehouse calls her lady bits a "va-jew-jew." Eeeuuww.
Anyway, I'll probably always stay current with current events, so that clutter gets to stay.
But the clutter that had to go was anger and resentment.
Many of you know I was recently sued by an idiot pothead ex-friend of mine. I was determined to fight her to the bitter end, convinced I'd prevail in court. But then I thought, why set myself up for 6 weeks of daily anger and resentment? So I gave her what she wanted and now it's done. Now that it's history, and she's history, I have nothing more to resent. It's over.
My faucet in the front yard was dripping. I tried to fix it and failed. So I called Lupe my yard guy and asked him to fix it. He replaced the faucet and now it's fixed.
More uncluttering.
I had a huge property tax bill that was due. I paid it. It's done.
Now I have no resentments or angry distractions to think of.
Seriously, it helps me think more clearly.
Anger, they say, is like drinking poison and hoping
they die.
Toxic relationships don't always have to end in a huge conflagration; sometimes they can just fizzle out and turn to dust.
I had a business partner who had so many other irons in the fire, her participation in building this new company was decreasing to an alarming extent.
I was starting to resent her, and resent that she would be getting 50 percent of the profits while doing only 20 percent of the work.
So I sat her down and gently explained what the deal was.
She started bickering about money, so I continued to gently explain why she'd make a better sales agent than full partner. Finally, she realized that I was being fair and honest with her, and she agreed with my decision. One more clutter issue I eliminated.
Now, I'm no Oprah, but I know that holding resentments and anger take up space that could be used for optimism, ambition and joy.
Having decluttered my mind by handling all the niggling little annoyances, I'm feeling serene and free.
Tell me how you deal with anger and resentments.