Need More Midlife Clarity? Check Out This Simple, Effective Exercise To Help You Get Clear And Confident Again

Episode 71 | (00:00):
Hey friend, are you ready to get some more midlife clarity? Oh my goodness, who doesn't want that, right? In midlife, clarity is the north star. When you know what you're doing and where you're going, you can be confident of your direction.

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Getting to that clarity point involves setting priorities appropriately, deciding what's important and what's not, and letting go and releasing some of the things that may not be as important to you as they used to be.

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So today I'm going to talk you through a very simple exercise, a very effective exercise, but it's one that I want you to spend some time on. When you start getting this clarity, life is going to get a whole lot easier.

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That's because you're doing the things and you're going in the direction that makes your beautiful, amazing heart sing. So let's get started. Oh my goodness, I think you're gonna love it. Let's dive in. Let's go!

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Hey there, Easy Ager. If you are not already an Easy Aging® Insider, go to TheEasyAgingShow.com right after this episode and sign up today.

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In this episode, we're talking about letting go of the clutter. Not the clutter that's only in your physical space. We're also going to be discussing the clutter in your emotional, mental and spiritual space too.

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Sometimes the overwhelm or the frustration of clutter manifests itself in odd ways. Have you been a little more snippy lately? Or, as they say on Ally McBeal, "snappish." I love that word. ;)

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Have you been more snappish lately? Do you feel tired all the time when you didn't used to be this tired? 

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If you're noticing some changes in your behavior that are not normal for you, maybe it's time to take a look at things. Because these are things that may be cluttering up your mind and your heart as well as your house.

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The bottom line is, letting go helps you think better. It helps you feel better, and it helps you live life better and have a more enjoyable time of everything.

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Once you find out what needs to leave your life, you are going to be amazed at how easily you can take a deep breath. Remember deep breaths? You can take a full breath, and it's a breath of relief. It's a breath that cleanses you. It's a breath that refreshes you.

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And when you take the deep breath, it gets oxygen into your brain so you can experience clarity. And when you have clarity, you can create confidence and contentment in your life.

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If I was going to put it into an equation, it would be something like

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Clarity = Confidence = Contentment.

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When you're confident in your life and you're clear on where you're going, contentment is a very natural result.

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You're going to feel much more at peace with your life, and you're going to have a different outlook on life. What do you say? Wouldn't that be nice? Wouldn't it be nice to just breathe deeply and clearly all the time, every single day?

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So I'm going to give you an exercise to help you clear out creatively, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. This exercise is going to help you get clarity on what's most important in your life so you can focus on that, the important stuff.

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Then you can release all the rest of the other stuff that may be taking up too much space in your life. Just as importantly, it's going to help you set your priorities accurately so you are only focused on the things that matter to you.

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Because this is a big issue for us. Sometimes we think we can do everything, so we keep piling things on our plates, saying, "Oh, this is little. It's not going to take too much time." And the tiny things become big things, and then you move into overwhelm and have no idea how to get out of it.

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The last time I did this exercise, I decided to let go of the personal side of social media. I still use it for my busiiness. You see, I was noticing my behavior.

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I noticed I couldn't focus as well as I used to, and it wasn't just an age thing. This was a basic inability to stay focused for more than a few minutes at a time. And every time I would stop, in those few minutes I wanted to pick up the phone and scroll through Facebook or Instagram.

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I noticed these distractions in my work and in my personal life and after doing the exercise, I realized that I was becoming brain dead and numb with all the mindless scrolling.

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So I decided to stop being on Facebook so much and to only use it for business.

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The main thing about this exercise is that you do it thoroughly. You don't need a timer for this one. Just sit down with a pen and paper and, if you like, your favorite beverage.

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Number the paper vertically from one to 50. Take a nice deep breath and start writing a list of 50 things to get rid of in your life. This includes anything that is cluttering up your life such as:

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An old set of pots and pans you don't use anymore. For me, it was coffee mugs. I don't know what happened. It seemed like every time I opened the cabinet, there were more mugs and they were multiplying overnight so got rid of the extras.

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It could be outdated magazines or books that you're never going to read again. It could be that piece of jewelry you don't wear anymore because it's from your ex, and you don't want to be reminded of him.

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It could be the dead potted plant in the corner, looking at you right now, sadly. Or it could even be holding a grudge or refusing to forgive someone. This can range. This can run the gamut. The clutter can go far and wide.

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If you get stuck, widen your sphere of thinking to include all aspects of your life: work, home, evenings, weekends, social time, volunteering, working out, whatever it is.

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There could be clutter there that you can very easily get rid of. Little pieces here and there. It could really help you feel cleaner and clearer and much more confident of where you're going and what you're doing.

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One of the big keys to success in doing this list is taking action quickly. Do not delay. When I decided to stop scrolling my personal Facebook feed, I put parameters around myself. I said, "I'm only going to use this during business hours and only on my laptop".

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I disabled the Facebook app on my phone so I wouldn't be tempted to start scrolling out of boredom. I didn't analyze. I didn't pause. I didn't give this decision a second thought because I knew it was the right decision.

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I also knew that if I thought about it too long, I was going to talk myself out of it. I'd think, "Oh, Michelle, you're not on it that much. You'll be fine. You can control yourself. You're really good about that."

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No. I know me. That's one of the great things about being in midlife. We know ourselves better than when we were younger. I knew that if this thing was enabled on my phone, I was going to be using it.

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So that's it for today. Start writing your list of 50 things that you can release in your life and then take action. Pretty simple, right?

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Once you have it written down, you can start referring back to that list and do a little bit today and a little bit tomorrow and a little bit next week.

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Never underestimate the power of letting go, my friend, because there is great power in releasing the clutter from your life.

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Once again, if you are not already an Easy Aging® Insider, go to TheEasyAgingShow.com right now to sign up. I will see you in the next episode and until then, peace, love and blessings to you and yours. Take care. Bye-bye!