Today's mood is starting the fuck over. Everything must go! If it no longer suits who I am or what I am doing, has bad memories attached, is half broken, or there is a newer model that I feel ready for...it's got to go.
I have been in a massive state of decluttering since November and one thing that I did differently this time was talk to every item I was donating/throwing away/recycling and tell these items in variations of: "I am glad you were in my life. Thank you. I no longer need you. Goodbye."
It has been a strange, peaceful, and happy send-off, acknowledging these items have had a function for me before but no longer did now. Just because the item wasn't right for me anymore, didn't mean I wasn't grateful for it.
Doesn't that feel nicer than shoving things in trash bags and hoping that everything will get better?
We can't break our habits if we don't acknowledge the past that built them. Clutter is like all your past events and history staring at you and clogging your emotional field. Removing these items from your life, and giving the items you want to keep a place in your home that is easy to find and safe, helps you move on.
This phrase is also helpful for cultivating new mindsets.
If you are leaving behind your money scarcity mindset, for example, tell your brain "thank you for keeping me safe" while also acknowledging that you no longer need scarcity to feel safe anymore. Tell your brain it is safe now to change your mind and learn something new.
Our subconscious programming can keep a lot of old and past-down beliefs stuck in our life because it sees change as a threat to all that it knows. Calmly telling your brain you don't need to believe something anymore, that it is safe to move on, and that you are grateful for the old belief when you needed it - helps you move on.
To the advice of Ariana Grande's song, "Thank U, Next," gratitude and lessons are necessary as you say goodbye.
What is a random item or mindset you want to say thank you, and goodbye, to?
PS - Coming soon will be a new post in the Swap Series, where I go over how you can recycle your clothes. I think it's a better option than donating clothes to the Goodwill, so I'll share that swap with you next.
Welcome to mood, our series of personal essays on rebeccaksampson.com. These posts will be about empowering you to take on a new perspective to problems and scenarios you encounter with sass, mindset reflection, and new perspectives. Read all mood blog posts to catch up on the series.