It’s time to take out the trash, folks, even if the trash is YOU. I know that sounds rude, but it’s a new year and I’m turning 51 this week and as my patience for nonsense wanes at an astounding daily rate, I am passing my sass on to you.
This is not a “misery loves company” scenario. No. It’s an I-don’t-care-what-you-think-of-me, but I do know what works slap down. I want my sass to slap your _____(rhymes with sass) into action. Maybe some ego mixed in there, but no harm is intended.
Do you want to gain clarity in your life? Do you want to figure out your next career steps? Do you want to feel commitment to a bigger vision of what’s possible for yourself? Then, call it a trash day every day for the rest of this month and get on with it.
People underestimate the importance of a clear slate to strategizing new horizons. We mistakenly think we can compensate for and overlook the physical clutter, emotional baggage, poor health, soured relationships and dysfunctional work or home scenarios. We think we can carve out an escape route and all of that will fall away behind us and it’s just not true. Problems will follow you even into a shinier new situation. Wading through the garbage is what gets us to a clear, new, unfettered path.
I am not advocating for perfection and tidiness in all areas, but what I am asking for is a higher level of awareness. Garbage drains you of energy, mental bandwidth, creativity, awareness of your intuition and peace. Without those, you are just existing and not growing and probably feeling down and discouraged.
Michael is a high-level, well-paid executive who has lost his edge. He doesn’t feel any passion for his work anymore although he did five or six years ago. Relationships are strained at his job, he’s wearing out his friends with the same repetitive complaints and he doesn’t feel motivated to keep up with his exercise routine. He hired me because he wants to make a decision about where to focus to find a new job opportunity. Where we started was with the clutter. Sustainable, good decisions aren’t made in the midst of chaos. As he addressed the chaos, I could hear his confidence building. Week by week, his conviction and vision of what he wanted for himself grew. The ah-ha’s are already breaking through like the sun does after a rainy afternoon, and I know that definitive decisions and actions on the career move are immediately imminent.
Shouldn’t that be you? It’s garbage day. You know what to do.
