After seeing people change for ten years or so now, I feel there is a mysterious relationship between the clutter in peoples’ minds, bodies, and environment…
At Weight Management Psychology, we pride ourselves on doing evidence-based work. In an industry (although we prefer to think we sit aside it, not inside it) full of misinformation, half-truths, and theories, this allows us to hand-on-our-heart, say we’re doing the best we can. There are many ideas, theories, and opinions, and I find it very comforting to be able to rely on science to separate the facts from the fancy. As evidence-based practitioners, 90% of what we say should be based on critically-analysed science, and when we give our personal opinion it should be prefaced as such. While I believe this to be true, I’ve never read a study on it (if one exists, someone please let me know), so this is an OPINION!
When people begin to take care of their bodies in a better way, when their minds become clearer, their environment follows! I see this all the time – a person drops a couple of kilos on the scales, and suddenly the home office is also down a few kilos in old bits of paper, bills, and unfiled receipts; a client chooses to forgive an old friend, and before the friend comes to visit, that spring-clean that has been waiting since last autumn blossoms. And the relationship goes both ways – the more you declutter your environment, the more decluttered your mind and body become too!! When I was writing my series Relaxation & Affirmation, I listened to all types of hypnosis for weight management (I didn’t like most of it very much, that’s why I wrote my own), but I listened to an American psychologist suggest “instead of going to the fridge, you will open a kitchen drawer and order it”…“what a great idea!” I thought, “then you can move on to cupboards, other rooms in the house, and then outside – you end up with a really healthy body and a great looking home!” So if you’re feeling cluttered, heavy, and disorganized in your physical health, psychological state, or environment, the great news is, you can start WHEREVER YOU LIKE!!!
Today I woke up feeling a bit “blugh”…in fact I’d been feeling this “blugh” for most of the weekend. I have been really excited about great new developments at WMP, only to have a conversation with a very money-oriented gym owner on Friday, and I remembered the combined power of those the dieting industry, the food industry, and all of the cowboys (and cowgirls) out there just to take your bucks! I felt dispempowered. Yes, I can continue to develop our approach, build my business, and work more closely with like-minded colleagues, but in this big bad weighty world, how could I expect to make more than a dent? BLUGH!!! … Then, on preparing to do a few bits and pieces, I decided to put my clean clothes away…ooh, I felt a little better! Then, I thought I may pay a few old bills that my poor clients have to see floating around on the desk…a little better still!! Then I called my mum and dad, and asked them if they’d come and pick up a spare bed that had been lying around…you guessed it, BETTER STILL!!! Now what am I doing? Writing my blog, helping make dents that will become holes and crash the dieting industry down so we can rebuild from a better blueprint – remembering that I’m not the only one, there are more like minded professionals each day, and feeling EMPOWERED – feeling great!!! ☺ ☺ ☺
One thing decluttering helps remind you of is your “efficacy”, your ability to change your own behavior, psychological state, and emotions, even if in a small way, and from little things, big things grow! So Sunday is the perfect day, start small, stark quickly, and start decluttering… wherever you’d like!!!
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