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By Ronnie Toofan
Last month, I failed to meet a deadline in one of the research papers I’ve been assigned to work on. As a consequence, I lost my performance bonus for that particular project. A week before that, I forgot to attend my friend Randy’s engagement party. Because of that, he felt let down. And though I felt bad too, I know that no amount of apologizing would suffice for what I did.
Feeling sorry for myself, I spent some alone time in my room, looking at the ceiling while trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. I couldn’t think of anything. And then I tried to look around my room.
I noticed that there was excessive clutter everywhere. And then, I remembered that it’s been almost 8 weeks since I last did a general cleaning in my room. So, I immediately started organizing my things and cleaning up my work area.
After de-cluttering my room, I started to feel better. And though I was tired, my mind was clearer, seeing everything in its proper place. The same day, I also decided to meet with Randy and tried to make it up to him by treating him and his fiancé to a nice restaurant.
I think we all undergo a certain phase in our lives wherein we get distracted and unfocused because of too many things that are going on around us. So, here are the things that you need to do to get your life back in order.
Re-Examine Yourself & Re-Define What Actually Makes You Who You Are
With all the complications, problems and confusions you’re dealing with every day, it’s easy to lose track of your priorities, to get distracted from accomplishing what’s important and overlook the issues that really matter. To regain focus and direction that has eluded you along the way, you should take a short break and devote some time for quiet reflection.
According to Marie Novak, the right approach is when you feel that your life is a mess is to go within.
I think the writer made a really good point. If you want to change your life, you need to start from inside out. So, whether you are experiencing financial struggles, relationship problems or health issues, it is important to find time to breathe and connect with yourself to get clarity about the direction of your life and what’s really inside your heart.
To untangle the mess in your life means to sort out your thinking patterns and behavior; and to align it with your life’s direction and purpose.
Reverse Your Negative Thoughts
The next step to fixing your life is to change your internal dialogue. Instead of saying that you’re exhausted with your job, or burnt out because of your finances, focus your attention on the things that you can do. Make a plan, do the necessary lifestyle adjustments or ask for help if you need to.
One way to reverse negative energy is to have confidence in yourself and apply a constructive perspective. You can’t solve your problems if you just keep on complaining about how messed up your life is.
And when it comes to productivity, the same principle applies. You can’t finish your work just by throwing more hours at it. Poor time management leads to poor business choices and traps you in a vicious spiral of busyness without actually accomplishing anything significant.
Writer Eric Ravenscraft suggests clearing up your cognitive bandwith.
You only have so much to focus on throughout the day. So, it’s best to pay attention to entertaining positive thoughts and to prioritizing crucial tasks and commitments.
De-Clutter Your Life
Another way to reduce stress, distractions and chaos in your life is by devoting some of your time to getting rid of the habits, behaviors, thoughts and people that don’t serve you. These things just drain your energy, waste your time and stop you from reaching your maximum potential.
In the piece “8 Signs It’s Time to Break Up With Your Partner,” writer Julie Peirano says that the key in learning from past mistakes is to accept that you are not with the right person.
Letting go is not an easy thing to do, but sometimes it is necessary so you can make space for people who truly care for you and who are worthy of your time.
Understand That Progress is a Process
Success doesn’t happen overnight. All the self-made people I know spent years persevering and putting in hard work to reach the level of comfort and convenience they’re enjoying in their life right now.
Patience is a virtue. You have to understand that there are some things in life that can’t be rushed. So, be willing to start with small steps and go through the process of development slowly but surely.
In my opinion, there are so many positive changes that could happen in a short period of time. So, the sooner you start working on your dreams, the longer you have to put things in place and fix things that need fixing.
And to help you kick start a meaningful life from today, check this out – “Adjusting Training and Eating Habits for Lifelong Success.”
Guys, it’s important that you don’t slack off in maintaining order in your life. Once you have successfully fixed some of your problem areas, make sure that you remain vigilant to avoid negative energies from taking over your life again.