How To Clear Out Mental Clutter
Take a risk — bet on you.
How often do we look to others within our peers, workgroup, or social club and say things like, “Wow, that person is a real risk-taker. They have guts. They are going somewhere. If I had the moxie they had I would be amazing.”
In those honest moments, when I am really paying attention, I say that about myself. But really, why can’t we take a risk? Why not make a splash in some area of your life?
To do that we need to start by clearing out the old programs that are slowing us down.
My dad used to be a home vintner. A big part of the process is sanitizing the bottles to prepare them for the new wine. If the bottles were not exhaustively sterilized, the wine would turn to vinegar. The unintended production of pickling solutions during this process was not at all uncommon.
Our minds are the same way. The cobwebs that cling inside our brains need to be dusted out time and again. Consider this quote…
“Think of how truly difficult it is for people to develop a new mind-set, a new paradigm, a new and different way of thinking — how it requires a new skill-set and a new tool-set. Think also of how futile it would be to teach people the new skills and tools with the old mind-set. It would be like putting new wine in old bottles.”
— Stephen Covey in The Eighth Habit
But what method can we use? I have a suggestion.
Let’s take a risk and…
Bet on you.
RISK
Here is an interesting quote I have found:
“In order to risk, we must jettison our accepted limits. We must break through ‘I can’t because …’ Because I am too old, too broke, too shy, too proud? Self-defended? Timorous? Usually, when we say we can’t do something, what we mean is that we won’t do something unless we can guarantee that we’ll do it perfectly….
To put it differently, very often a risk is worth taking simply for the sake of taking it. There is something enlivening about expanding our self-definition, and a risk does exactly that. Selecting a challenge and meeting it creates a sense of self-empowerment that becomes the ground for further successful challenges. Viewed this way, running a marathon increases your chances of writing a full-length play. Writing a full-length play gives you a leg up on a marathon.”
— Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way.
I wish I could have written that. Anyway, take a risk. What have you got to lose? In most cases, if you sit down and think about it, probably very little.
I have been thinking of taking a risky path, to step into the darkness, all day today. But I haven’t. Why not, you might ask. Honestly, it is my pride. I don’t want to look foolish. I will need some help with the project I have in mind and I know the guy I need to call to enlist his expertise. But I have never asked him anything like this before and I am worried about his reaction.
Do you see? When I stop and think about it my fear has no basis in fact. It is just silly. I need to follow this advice right now, and maybe you do as well…
“Feel the fear and do it anyway.” — Susan Jeffers
As far as taking a risk, here are a few suggestions and see if any of these resonate with you. Better yet, if any suggestion below terrifies you, that is probably the one to try.
- Join a swim club.
- Change your hair color.
- Go on an overnight hike.
- Shoot a round of skeet.
- Learn a new language.
- Buy a watercolor paint set with paper.
- Drive a snowmobile.
- Take a three-day crazy vacation.
- Practice your public speaking (to a crowd of people).
- Wear a daring new color.
- Take a dance class.
- Go skating.
- Jump off the high diving board at your local pool.
Good luck on your risky path. If you do take this advice please drop me a note and let us all know what you did. If you do something a bit crazy, please make sure it is safe.
All the best… Max
