If you didn't quite get to everything you wanted to do in January, don't fret. We have the advantage of being at the start of a new month and every day brings a fresh opportunity to renew your focus and begin something.
You may know of this concept but I think it's amazing and wanted to share it with you in case you've not come across it before. It's an amazing mindset trick that puts you thoroughly in control of your goals.
Have you found you get stressed out by all sorts of things? Maybe some of these:
- the jobs you didn't get done around the house last year
- what will happen now that we've left the EU
- the mounds of paperwork taking over your kitchen counters
- your environmental impact
- your partner's messy bedside table
- the state of the economy
- how you never have enough clean shirts on a Friday
Don't stress - use your zone of control!
Often we experience stress when we lack control, so the key to reducing your stress is to focus on what you can control.
Think of these three elements:
- Zone of control (blue) - the things going on here are within your control to change
- Zone of influence (white) - you can influence the elements within this area but you cannot personally control what happens here
- Zone of concern (green) - you cannot control or influence what happens within this area
You can reduce your stress levels by focusing your energy on the elements within your Zone of Control, those things that you can personally change. For example, you can make sustainable purchases, recycle and reduce your energy consumption to lower your impact on the environment. You might go further and change to renewable energy sources, choose to walk more often rather than use your car and so on.
How can we use this mindset at home?
When it comes to our homes, we are busy, have other things to focus on and often live with other people (or pets) who create mess too.
If you are getting frustrated with the state of your home, you could try taking action on the things that are within your control, such as:
- decluttering and organising your side of the bedroom (often when we get organised this rubs off on others as they notice the benefits of our efforts)
- organising your paperwork and start to manage it regularly so that it doesn't pile up
- adding a weekly 'light load' diary reminder to ensure that you have shirts
- helping your child practice tidying and giving away toys they no longer use (important skills for the future!)
- create zones with accessible storage so that things can be tidied away easily when finished with
What other things can you do to organise the things within your control?
So the next time you feel stressed...
Train your mind to focus on what you can control. Ask yourself "Where can I take control?"
And remember ... let go of the things that you can't control!
(Yes it takes practice but it's worth it!) ;o)
