Getting past the barriers to getting started

7 May 2015

Shannon

My friend and colleague, Shannon Wilkinson is an amazing life coach. She helps people get past the emotional barriers that stop them from doing what they want to do. I frequently encounter people who really want to get (or stay) organized, but can’t seem to get started in doing the necessary work. I asked Shannon to write a guest post addressing this. If it resonates with you and you’d like Shannon’s help getting where you want to be, check out her Unbelievable Ease coaching program.

Getting Started

Do you struggle to create (or maintain) order? You may need to declutter emotional barriers first.

Recently, a client of mine shared that she struggles with keeping her kitchen as clean and orderly as she’d like. It suddenly became a more pressing issue because some workers would be over in the next week to make needed repairs.

What seems like a fairly straighforward task, was overwhelming her. She was struggling to even get started.

As with most situations like this, there was a lot more going on than some dishes in the sink.

When she thought about cleaning the kitchen, she imagined it as a HUGE overwhelming project. The dishes became evidence of her failure as a housekeeper. Thoughts zipped through her head of how hopeless she was, if she couldn’t even keep the kitchen clean.

The thing is, none of this happened consciously. She just knew that when she thought about cleaning up the kitchen, she felt bad. Really, really bad. It’s not hard to imagine why it was so difficult for her to get started.

How you think about your stuff — what it triggers in your mind — is one of the factors that can make dealing with it, creating and maintaining order, such a struggle.

When you consider a some decluttering or organizing you’d like to do, but can’t seem to get started on, what happens?

Do you picture your piles as bigger than you, insurmountable? – What if you imagine you could hold them in your hand.

Do you feel like clutter is evidence of your failure? – What if you let it simply be inanimate stuff that hasn’t yet been put away.

Does having undone projects start a chorus of berating voices in your head? – What if you turned down the volume, and changed the tone to a loving friend.

These are the kinds of techniques I used with my client. It dissolved the overwhem so she could take action.

Noticing how your mind responds to clutter or lack of order is a great way to get started. Experiment with these ideas, changing your thoughts to be neutral, or even inspiring.

If you’d like more support so you can take action and get to where you want to be, check out Unbelievable Ease, a coaching program for big dreamers who want to become big doers.

Tagged with: emotions, shannon wilkinson