Thursday, October 3, 2013

Conquering the Mess-Stress Cycle…easier than you think!

Conquering the Mess-Stress Cycle...easier than you think!

Most of the time, as I contemplate potential topics for this blog, I land on a subject that has been a focus for multiple clients.  This time, however, there is a prevailing topic of conversation among my clients, friends and family that leaves me no choice but to write about the power of being organized and having systems.  Apparently, the seasonal move back indoors following months of summer activity has caused some to suddenly notice how their inside spaces are  working against them.  Although I’m currently coaching a number of new parents, it’s experienced parents who have recently express to me their desire for a less cluttered life.

Many people have reported feeling so completely out of control that they are willing to spend a large sum of money to hire someone to just fix it for them.  (Unfortunately, even if you could hire someone to fix it for you, you wouldn’t be able to maintain the fix unless you personally construct and buy-in to the solution).  It may be the stacks of unopened mail, the laundry that seems to have babies at night, the project that has taken up residence on the dining room table or simply the time wasted repeatedly hunting for the car keys.  It’s important, of course, to have the ability to tolerate the degree of mess that’s a normal by-product of living.  However, if you don’t have systems in place that support continual checks and balances around life’s messes, they will set up house in your head, create stress and rob you of energy.   In order to break the mess-stress cycle, we have to be able to identify how we got there in the first place.  We do that by examining our habits and behaviors.  Habits are what we do every day without thinking.  They are learned and repeated and then they become automatic, like throwing your coat and purse into the kitchen chair when you come in the door.  A system is having a landing place for the purse and the coat that is easy to access and will not require moving when everyone comes to the kitchen table for dinner.

The process of making a change in your life, as in all life coaching, begins with questions.

·         What is it that you want?

·         Why do you want it?

·         What will happen if you don’t make the change?

·         What are you willing to give up for the change?

·         Have you seen an example of the system you are wanting?

·         Have you had success using this system in the past?

The next step is to use your answers to create systems that will work for you.


Should you be interested in receiving coaching in order to conquer your mess-stress cycle, I propose that we work in partnership to identify your goals and to establish strategies and accountabilities that will enable you to achieve them.  Give me a call.