One of the treasures of being human is our capacity for thought. Ideas that visit your mind can become seeds for creating marvelous inventions or provocative works of art. Your thoughts can turn into action for self-change or positive advances in the world. Thoughts can foster compassion for people in distress or motivate you forward.

What happens when you have unhelpful thoughts? Have you ever engaged in negative self-talk, unnecessary doubt, self-sabotaging thoughts, or word loops that keep you stuck? I have and so have many of my clients. It’s not productive or helpful, but it is a common human experience.

Years ago, I traveled to Austin for an organizing conference. During one of the breaks, I walked into town and discovered this message spray-painted onto the side of a building. It said, “We don’t say fried. We say, deep sauté.” Talk about a reframe! Some of you will agree that eating fried foods isn’t the healthiest choice. Saying “deep sauté” instead doesn’t make the food more nutritious, but it immediately changes my perspective to something more positive. That is the power of the reframe.

While I’m not encouraging you to eat more fried or deep-sauteed foods, I suggest you use this concept to adjust your negative self-talk and other unproductive thoughts.

Let’s test some out.

Instead of:                                          Use:

I’ve never been organized.                 I’m learning to get organized.

My clutter is overwhelming.               I am decluttering a little bit each day.

I don’t know how to get organized.   I will reach out for organizing help.

I’m not good enough.                         I am enough.

I have so much to do.                         I get to focus on what is most important.

“One of the treasures of being human is our capacity for thought.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

What are some of the negative, self-sabotaging thoughts you have? What are alternate reframes? Does it help you think differently by changing your perspective? Your mind can be channeled in many ways.

The next time you’re going down the adverse rabbit hole, stop. Reframe and adjust your thoughts in a more supportive direction. If you need help reframing and activating, I’m just a phone call or email away. I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to reach out and/or join the conversation.

It was a colorful week in many ways. It’s fall, and the leaf-peeping opportunities in the Hudson Valley are spectacular! This week, extra time was spent outdoors walking, photographing, and driving in search of exhilarating views.

The week was not only visually breathtaking, but it was exciting too. I hosted my first online workshop, How to Conquer Clutter. A wonderful group of participants attended from around the country. Their desire to better understand their clutter challenges, make changes and see new possibilities was inspiring. How comforting to know we are not alone in our challenges and the changes we seek.

One of the walks I took this weekend was with my husband, Steve. We ventured over the Croton Dam and around the reservoir, searching for fall’s magic. At one point, we rounded the bend and spotted a brilliant burst of yellow foliage touching the medium-blue sky, which reflected onto the water below. The brightness, surrounded by deep shadows, made the colors incredibly vivid.

This memorable moment connected several ideas. How often do you feel stuck in the shadow? You sense something is possible or around the bend. Yet, you are unsure what it is or means. Slowly from the dark, a new vibrant path appears. You feel energized and positive. Possibilities are within reach as you emerge from the shadow towards the light. Poet and philosopher Yung Pueblo said, “…the river of life wants to move you toward embracing change.”

In the days following the workshop, I sensed a door opening for me. That entry had been sticky and challenging to move through. However, the opening felt spacious after pursuing and reaching my goal of developing and hosting a workshop. I imagined new possibilities and ways to help others. Inspiration filled my cup with the colorful autumn landscapes and the energy received from experimenting with something new.

“…the river of life wants to move you toward embracing change.”

— Yung Pueblo

What are you noticing right now? Which changes will you decide to pursue? What possibilities are here for you in this new season? I’d love to hear your thoughts and invite you to join the conversation.

This time of year in the northeast, the daily changes outside are visible. Aside from the temperatures dropping, which means it’s now scarf and glove weather, the landscape transforms too. Each day I notice more leaves turning yellow, orange, red, or brown. Some have already dropped to the ground. In another few months, a starker landscape will be here. But for now, color dots my view and nudges me to embrace change and lean towards what’s possible.

What makes you take action? There is a pattern I’ll call Thought-Motivation-Action Cycle (TMA), which I’ve observed and experienced. Thought, followed by motivation, turns into action. The undercurrent for this change cycle is a belief that what you want to accomplish is possible.

Thought

The thought is an idea, rumination, or possibility. This can percolate in your mind for a long time without gaining traction. It’s a place many of us get stuck. Then, something will happen, providing motivation to turn that thought into action.

Motivation

Motivation can be internally driven by your response to a significant life event, having enough information, or having the time and focus for activation.  External motivation can happen through accountability to someone, partnering, or having a deadline. Think of motivation like a match pressing the striker and igniting. That tiny spark changes everything.

Action

The flame encourages a small action step, then another, and another. It feels tremendous to be doing and not just thinking about doing. Each action encourages more progress and forward movement.

“The undercurrent for this change cycle is a belief that what you want to accomplish is possible.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

When clients initially contact me, they often mention they’ve been thinking about getting organized or asking for help for ages. I ask what prompted their call, which helps me gain insight into their motivation. With those two parts of the TMA cycle clarified, we focus on specific actions and make progress towards their goals.

Have you experienced the TMA cycle? What have you observed? As the season cues you for change, what feels possible? I’d love to hear your thoughts and invite you to join the conversation.

We live in times where bigger and more are frequently sought goals. Perhaps the desire for big has become so deeply ingrained that it flavors decisions and attitudes. We seek larger spaces, collect more stuff, and fill our carts and plates, so they overflow. In some scenarios, this might be useful. However, if we let go and shift towards little, some incredible things happen.

Perhaps it’s the effects of the pandemic or being a Professional Organizer for almost 30 years, but I have discovered a renewed appreciation for the art of smaller and less. Just to clarify, I love the word abundance. However, we can feel full without having more or becoming overwhelmed. In the quietness of little, we have the space to truly understand its gifts.

Recently, I had some experiences which brought this idea into focus. 

3 Ways to Let Go of Big & Joyfully Experience Powerful Benefits of Little

1. Little Garden

Like many, I planted my first vegetable garden at the start of the pandemic. However, unlike some of my friends and neighbors, I wasn’t a confident gardener. So I opted to do it in a small, manageable way by keeping my ‘garden’ contained and little. In our greenhouse, I put three pots of varying sizes.

This spring is my third year, and I planted lettuce, basil, and mint. Because there were so few pots, it was easy to do. And it’s simple to maintain. Each time I water and mist them, I am delighted as I watch them grow and thrive. They are happy-looking plants and it feels good to care for them.

It would be too time-consuming to have a more extensive garden to tend, and I doubt I’d appreciate each plant as much. That’s just me. By letting go of big and opting for my little garden, I can provide freshness for our meals, enjoy the nurturing process, and do it joyfully.

2. Little Group

Gatherings with family and friends happened this past weekend for Passover, Easter, or Ramadan. After two years of not getting together because of the pandemic, we were excited to be in person again. However, with COVID still present and surging, it impacted many gatherings where hosts or guests canceled last minute. It happened to us, and several of our guests couldn’t make it because of COVID.

My husband and I made our Passover seder hosting plans over a month ago. In the past, we’ve had close to 40 guests. This year, we let go of having a larger group and went smaller. This was partly because of the pandemic and because it’s more challenging to host a bigger group. Frankly, I was out of practice. We ended up with 15 people, which was a great size. It was enjoyable because I got to talk with everyone, sit calmly and eat, see people interacting, and have enough space to move about. 

By going small, I appreciated the gathering even more.

“In the quietness of little, we have the space to truly understand its gifts.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO

3. Little Habits

When I work with clients to help them reach their organizing goals, we often focus on adopting new daily habits by taking tiny steps to get there. When we break things down into small, doable steps, it is less overwhelming.

Like my clients, I’ve made many intentional changes in my life. When we’re working on that tiny step or small habit change, it seems like nothing is happening. But in time, we notice and feel the positive shifts.

The practice of tiny movements and choices creates incredible results. Some of the small daily habits I’ve made include meditation and journaling, walking in nature, eating nutritiously, hydrating, and getting enough sleep. Did I make all of those changes at once? Definitely not. Each habit began in little ways. For example, I eventually increased to walking 10,000 steps per day. But it took time to get there- literally one small step at a time. I let go of focusing on the big goals to reach the little goals along the way.

The benefits of my small habit changes are palpable. Because they have a low barrier to entry, it’s easier to be consistent and continue building from there.

Have you experienced the benefits of letting go of big to experience the joy of little? Does this idea resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts, and I invite you to join the conversation.