Welcome to 2022!
I want to start things off differently this year. I’m going to begin by sharing an observation.
“What on earth is going on?” I used to ask myself. 🤔
My researcher’s brain couldn’t make any sense of it.
Have you ever had an experience where you set out to do one task and you got a completely unexpected result? As in, one straight out of left field that left you scratching your head?
That’s what I’m talking about.
If you’re wondering what this has to do with a better start to the new year, stay with me. I’m getting there.
This is an important piece of it.
A funny thing happened
Years ago, when I first started to coach clients one-on-one, I’d often recommend that they work on decluttering their space as part of their financial growth.
The reasons varied, but typically, something about their financial work environment impaired my clients’ ability to focus. So, as a first step, they sorted, recycled, threw out, and gave away whatever was standing in their way.
I started to notice an interesting pattern: Without trying to (at least initially), they invariably made better and faster financial progress than anyone had expected.
They made more money.
New opportunities and job offers showed up out of the blue.
People who owed them money suddenly reached out to pay up.
Work proposals got accepted quickly.
It was uncanny. And consistent.
Client after client experienced the same thing, to the point where I couldn’t ignore it or brush it off as merely interesting.
It’s not just me
In her book, The Soul Sourced Entrepreneur, Christine Kane tells the story of a coach encouraging her to clean out her basement when she felt stuck in her work.
As Christine tells it, she had old furniture and other stuff from the past, which she was holding on to, stacked high and wide in her basement. Her “foundation” was cluttered and mired in her past.
As strange as the recommendation sounded, Christine got down to letting go of, and cleaning out, the clutter in her basement.
Lo and behold, she had a breakthrough in her work.
So what’s the problem here?
One of the things I pride myself on is the fact that everything I teach and/or recommend is evidence-based.
In other words, there is research showing not just that my process works, but also why it works.
I can show you why budgets don’t work for so many people and why they actually keep you stuck in a narrow rut.
I can show you why many people’s approach to investing is counter-productive.
There is also ample evidence to demonstrate that to succeed financially, you must have a healthy money mindset.
But when it comes to my results with decluttering? I’ve got nothing – except, of course, my firsthand experience.
I don’t know why it works
I just know that it does.
It still bugs the pants off me not to know why a process works, but I’ve also been around the block enough times with this one to respect the results.
I’ve come to think of it in this way: When you declutter your world, you create space – both mental and physical – for the good stuff you want more of.
I’m not going to make up horse manure about “why” this happens, because the truth is I don’t know.
I suspect, though, that when you bring more focus, clarity, and an uncluttered environment into your world, a lot more is possible.
And the cool thing is that you don’t have to believe one shred of it to start the process. When you declutter, the worst that can happen is that you will have a nicer space in which to work and live.
Not a bad downside.
And the potential upside is pretty cool.
Let’s start 2022 differently
I’m inviting you to join me for an entirely new, more effective way to start the new year given everything we’ve been through in the last couple of years.
No pressure to “hit the ground running” and build momentum out of the gate.
No frantic plotting and planning to try to figure out the entire year ahead before the first week of January is out.
We’re twenty-one months into a pandemic, with a roller-coaster ride of openings and closings.
Every woman I talk to is both mentally and physically tired.
So instead of rushing into the new year, we’re going to hit the pause button and do something radical.
We’re going to go slow (for now) to go fast (soon).
Clean Up and Clarify
For the first 24 days of January, I’m going to walk my community of women, who want to live life on their terms, through a process I call Clean Up and Clarify.
We’re going to start by decluttering our physical spaces.
Then we’ll move on to decluttering our mental spaces.
Finally, we’ll all meet up on the 25th to create a Money Roadmap for 2022.
We’re going to take slow, deliberate action to make space for a fulfilling year, so that when you get to December 31st, 2022, you can say, “I had a fantastic year!”
Start here
Here’s your first step:
- Set aside 20 minutes of quiet time to think.
- In that time, identify the areas in your physical space where clutter has accumulated.
- Make a list of those spaces if there’s more than one (and there’s always more than one, right?).
- When you have your list, pick the one that pisses you off the most.
- You know what I’m talking about here. THAT space that acts like a thorn in your side, bugging you, weighing on you.
- The space that you keep telling yourself you intend to straighten out, clean out, triage, as soon as you have the time.
- Here’s the thing: You will never have the time unless you make a point of it.
This is that moment where you give yourself permission to tackle that space.
Remember, we’re starting slow here. The first step is just to identify that space.
Got it?
When you know your space, shoot me an email and let me know. I’m your cheerleader on this one.
And don’t worry – I’ll be working right along with you on that decluttering project.
Everything I encourage you to do is something that I will tackle, too. I’m in this with you!
If you want to start decluttering, cool. Go right ahead.
But you don’t have to just yet.
For now, just identify that one space.
I’ll be back in a couple of days with the next steps.
One last thing: Take pics. Lots of them.
Not for me or anyone else other than yourself – though I’m hoping you’ll be willing to share a couple as we encourage each other.
These pics, though, are for your records.
Because when December 31st, 2022 rolls around, you are going to be amazed by what you’ve created in these 365 days.
It’s so easy to forget all the little steps that went into great results. So pull out your phone and snap away!
Can’t wait to see what we all create together in this big, beautiful year ahead!
Chat again soon.
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