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As the weather gets nicer, the school year comes to an end, and the cookouts begin, it’s that time of year again: SPRING CLEANING!
Spring-cleaning is a tradition that allows us to clean our being in the physical sense, in efforts to prepare for what is next.
Usually this is the time when we swap our winter coats for our summer garb, sort our belongings, and begin to gather up everything we do not need or use. This time is used to cleanse every inch of your life, to remove clutter from your belongings, organizing your rooms, and sanitize your life.
So what about the mental? What about cleansing our minds, our friends, and those who we socialize with on a daily basis? How about cleaning our list of lovers, exes, or limiting our interactions with those who are deemed unnecessary for our progress?
All the stressors of life, physical pulls, mental commitments, and friends/family issues often bombard us and sometimes take over our focus. But our mind and body can only take so much. This is why spring-cleaning is vital.
Spring-cleaning should occur on every level of life: physical interactions and surroundings, communication, lifestyle, environment, knowledge, and emotions. As we all set goals for ourselves, it is important to realize our goals do not always come into fruition without consistent growth and productivity. As a result, minor changes can have a major difference in our lives.
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So let’s break it down. Just like with our belongings, we tend to create three main categories:
1. To Sweep - “This is going straight to the TRASH.”
The items, individuals, emotions, etc. that we no longer need or should keep and will not benefit anyone else.
2. To Store Away - “I may need this later.”
The items, individuals, emotions, etc. that you may not need at this moment, but can utilize at a later time. In terms of individuals, you may need to change the aspect in which you are dealing with someone in order for it to be healthier, more professional, or completely personal.
3. To Keep “I can definitely put this to use!”
The items, individuals, emotions, etc. that you are/can utilize that will increase your productivity, success and progress in life.
To cleanse one’s soul, in essence, is to remove all barriers, limits, confusion, and misunderstanding in every sense and form. Spring Cleaning is what everyone needs to ensure a path of continual uplift. Spring Cleaning on every level promotes self-reflection and analysis, goal adjustments, reality checks, and making changes that may be tough. Do not forget to take a moment and check your internal desires, fears, emotions, and personality during this process.
In the dating world, we always think that the only result is having a mate. Rarely, do we examine the work that must go into preparing yourself to believe in, visualize, recognize, receive, and give love. Amidst our mental quest and desires for a companion or partnership, we must always work on ourselves.
This is why spring-cleaning needs to occur readily, consistently, and always based on the purpose of positivity and progression.
How to keep up the good work:
1. Be honest with yourself about who you are, perceived as, and want to be. Continue to work on aligning these categories with the help of Sweeping, Storing, or Keeping aspects of yourself.
2. Write weekly, monthly, and yearly goals and evaluate your progress on them.
3. Sort your email contacts, organize your cell phone contacts, or change your number when you are transitioning to the next successful stage of your life.
4. At least every two months evaluate your circle of “friends”, professional connections, and surrounding network- Sweep, Store, or Keep.
5. If you are seeking a new relationship, you MUST Store or Sweep your prior dealings. You cannot appreciate a current situation if your mind is still present on past dealings.
Dating is just one minute aspect of our lives that often overtakes everything. It is so easy to become engulfed in someone else that we forget to continue working on ourselves. In the same aspect, we work on ourselves so much that we expect others to do the same. Remember, spring-cleaning starts from within first, and then must be shared with others.
JoVonna Rodriguez is a vessel for words and emotions. She is a native New Yorker who now resides in Atlanta, Georgia since graduating from Emory University. She is AmeriCorps alum whose commitment to service is now bridged with being a life long educator. She makes sure to incorporate creative and innovative ways of learning how to love reading and writing in her classroom. JoVonna is releasing her first book of poetry and prose entitled, Pronouns. For more on JoVonna Rodriguez and Pronouns check her out at:www.joskidiesel.com, @JoskiDiesel or .
i am more educated after reading this article