Make Room For Your Passions
By Liz Canavan
A new year is now here on both the American and Chinese calendars and we have inaugurated a new president. With a country recovering from habits of debt and over- consumption, it’s clearly time for new beginnings. If we want a different result, we are going to have to change ourselves- our routines, habits, thoughts, expectations and space.
Yes, space- for any kind of growth to happen, you need to create space- physically, emotionally, and in your schedule.
Physical Space: If you are writing your book this year, you have to create a surface and environment to write. Without creating the physical space, you will not feel inclined to write and achieve this goal. If this is the year you learn to water color, you need to clear out that cluttered guest room and set up an easel. Properly setting the space will let you feel ready for a new activity.
In helping people clear out their clutter, almost every time the client will say to me “now that this room is cleared out I can finally get back to my (sewing, scrap booking, etc.)” Once the space was created, they felt the energy and motivation to start a new project. Clear the space and start doing something that ignites you.
Emotional Space: A paradigm shift has to occur for anything in our lives to change. When I said WE have to change if we want change in our lives, this is what I meant. It can also look like an “ah-ha” moment and typically comes with a lot of passion and emotion- sometimes a fierce motivation and sometimes sadness and crying.
Whenever we want something to be different in our lives, it’s easy to see the symptom (e.g: “my house is chronically disorganized”) but not-so-obvious to see the root of the problem (e.g. “When I have free time, I want to read, not clean up. I resent having to stay at home and picking up after the family, it always goes unappreciated.”) Although it’s quick to fix the symptom, it is sustainable and life-changing to fix the root.
Scheduled Time as “Space”: If you would like to commit to becoming a salsa dancer this year, you need to clear your Wednesday night schedule and commit to a salsa class. If you desire to be less harried this year, block out the time in your schedule for “me nights” or “family nights”, so you make sure to keep that time sacred. If it’s not blocked out in the calendar, it will be trampled by another activity.
When I practiced “me nights”, I set very specific rules
o No talking on the phone
o Only do things for my own pleasure – i.e. cook for me, draw a bubble bath with candles, pleasure-read.
o Resist the temptation to clean and organize, this night is just for my own rejuvenation
As we face a new beginning, I invite you to think about what you want to do, be and have in this New Year. Focusing on the “be” will bring you the most satisfaction and will ask the most change of you as a whole person. Creating the new space for this desire is an excellent place to begin.
Liz Canavan is a Professional Organizer in Boulder. She is the Marketing Director for the Colorado Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). Holiday parties have caused tantrums if she doesn’t get her afternoon nap. She invites you to visit her company’s website: www.AlchemyOfOrder.com to see before and after photos of spaces she has organized.
