Giving Myself Advice

Sometimes I have to give myself advice. It helps to examine my problem with objective eyes, as if it belonged to someone else. My problem is that despite repeating my mantra of, "Slow and steady wins the race," I feel a rising wave of panic as I race the calendar to get my house ready for construction work. All of the hours I've spent--15 minutes at a time--clearing out, organizing, and packing up my stuff don't seem to have made a dent in the workload.

Common sense tells me that this is not true. Even though I feel surrounded by my stuff (instead of surrounded by neatly labeled boxes), I know that clearing clutter generates energy. Having gotten rid of four trash bins worth of stuff, I can think more clearly. I can make decisions on packing and storing our belongings. I know where our stuff is. Best of all I have an internal drive to keep going, to keep sorting and tossing and packing. My challenge now, is stopping.

Now that my mind and my home are beginning to clear, I am able to ask the important questions. What one task or small project would give the most sense of visual progress? What one task or small project would give the most sense of actual progress? What can I do to get past the halfway point, so I can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel? Asking myself these questions keeps me calm and it keeps me thinking, planning, and working more effectively. Giving myself advice helps dissolve the panic.