Emotional Decluttering: Let Go of REGRET
“Holding on to STUFF is not just physical, it’s mental. Letting go…lets go!”
~Sharhonda Ford
Hey Y’all,
Last week we talked about meeting your goals and reflecting on the goals you set for yourself in 2021.
We discussed identifying, acknowledging and addressing things that prevented you from meeting your goals so far.
Were you able to reflect and determine what things were a hindrance to you successfully meeting your goals? If you have identified things that are standing in your way, what steps are you taking to acknowledge and address them? If you have not been able to do so, I want to introduce you to another thing that is standing in the way of goal achievement.
Allow me to introduce you to Emotional Clutter.
I know when we hear the word clutter, we immediately think of physical spaces such as homes, closets, garages, attics, basements etc. But there is another thing that needs decluttering. Our Minds need to be decluttered as well.
Did you know emotional decluttering is essential to having clarity of thought? Did you realize having so much on your mind may prevent you from thinking clearly, planning appropriately and resting adequately?
We don’t hear a lot about emotional clutter. It isn’t something spoken of often and people don’t normally associate clutter with emotions. It is typically associated with physical, tangible items we can see in our homes and lives.
How often, do you think of something or say something and think to yourself or hear someone say, are you still holding on to that? Do you recognize the impact not letting go has on your life?
There is a level of complexity in emotional clutter. Self-awareness and identifying your feelings and thoughts is essential to working on the process of emotional decluttering. Emotional decluttering is the first step to physical decluttering. Letting go of things mentally will allow you to let go of things physically. Holding on to STUFF is not just physical it’s mental.
This week we are going to focus on one of the ways emotional clutter shows up in our lives.
Let’s talk about REGRET:
Regret can be related to missed goals and not accomplishing things you expect. They could be things such as staying in an unhealthy relationship, not staying committed to healthy lifestyle changes, taking a position, taking advantage of an opportunity and even saying YES or NO at varying times. Decision making is a huge contributor to regret.
Can you identify something you regret? How often do you think of that thing? Do you dwell or focus on what you could have, should have or would have done?
Do you regret failing or not trying something? Whatever it is you are able to identify that you regret, I invite you to “let it go”. Let go of the regret.
Regret weighs you down. It is like overweight luggage on a flight and is a detriment to your healing and wellness journey.
Whether you could have, should have or would have, today is the day to FORGET THE MISTAKE and REMEMBER THE LESSON.
When you let go of regret, you let go of an area of emotional clutter. When you release yourself from regret you free yourself to let go of physical clutter as well. I will say this now and you will hear it repeated throughout this series. “Physical things are tied to emotional things. Emotional things are tied to physical things. Letting go, lets go”!
I am excited for you as you spend this week identify areas of regret in your life. That’s right, identify, acknowledge and address those things that have settled in your mind as regret and watch the feeling of freedom in that area of your life cleanse your mind.
Stay tuned. Next week we will discuss another area of emotional clutter.
Have a great week,
Sharhonda L. Ford, LCMHC
