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Spring Is a Great Time to Spring Clean

We moved our clocks forward last weekend, how many of you are still feeling a little wonky from the time adjustment? I know for me it has given me more energy because I am a creature of the light! Give me more light in the day and I have got the goods to get more done and to feel more energized.

With this light and longer day comes the opportunity to look at what is serving us really well in our work and in our lives. It is also an opportunity to look at letting go of behaviors that no longer serve us.

I have a dear friend (we have been friends since high school) she is a phenomenal person and is one of the most inspiring people I know. Sue was diagnosed last spring with cancer and it rocked her world. Sue was relatively healthy and having this diagnosis was very difficult for her to deal with. However in true Sue fashion she responded with bravery and action. She took a long hard look at her life, her choices and her behaviors and she recognized there were some things she needed to let go of.

The other day Sue and I were catching up by phone and she was feeling a little down. It has been six months since she has been declared cancer free and she was feeling a little down. I think we can all relate to getting to a point in our lives where we have made huge shifts in our choices and behaviors and yet it seems as if the outer world is not responding as quickly as we would like to our changes.

I reminded Sue that she had made tremendous progress in her behaviors and now she just needed to give those around her and the universe time to catch up with her changes. When I recounted the new found commitment Sue had to her health, the healthy choices she had been making and her setting of newly established boundaries she was reminded of the massive steps she had taken towards greater well-being.

The world just doesn’t respond to our requests as quickly as we would like.

You have heard the joke that goes like this: How do you make God laugh? Tell him your plans.

The point is that in order to create new and bold changes in our lives we need to let go of the old and tired behaviors that no longer support the new self we are proclaiming to be.

Some examples of old behaviors may be:

• Rather than respond in the same old patterns of negativity when people let us down we can choose to take a deep breath and choose a new positive thought. This is called reframing.
   
  
• Rather than get stressed or fearful when things aren’t happening on our time line we can relax take action on what we have control over. For example if someone doesn’t get back to you on a promised deadline make the phone call or send the email and then let it go.
   
  
• Rather than complain about low energy or how little time you have for exercise, schedule in a 30 minute walk into your daily schedule.
   
  
• Rather then get impatient with certain areas of your life such as finding the perfect relationships or wishing your partner would change- do something that serves your well being go for a massage, join a new exercise activity such as a boot camp, sign up for something you would never normally do such as a cooking class.

It’s time for some spring cleaning and to spring forward with renewed energy, excitement and focus. Happy Spring!

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