Moving to a new year is like moving into a new home. You can throw everything into a box and sort it later, or you can pack it up and move with ease and grace. The choice is yours.
For the past decade, I’ve helped people navigate one of the biggest life changes we all face: moving to a new home.
My first conversation with every client, whether buyer or seller, is the same. I start by asking them what they love about their current home, and what they don’t love. We discuss what lessons they learned from where and how they are living now.
Knowing this information helps me keep them aligned with their outcomes. I can keep them focused on what homes will be the best fit for their next stage in life.
One thing that almost everyone says when describing their ideal new home is “in my next home I don’t want to have any clutter.”
I said this when I moved to my home 12 years ago. And, like many of my clients, clutter crept in.
How We Move Clutter With Us
One reason this happens is that we tend to pack up everything from the old place and move it to the new place. It’s easier to throw everything into the boxes and let the movers handle it.
This is inefficient and ineffective, not to mention more expensive.
I made this mistake when I moved 12 years ago. And I learned my lesson.
In September of this year, I put my apartment on the market. Prior to listing it, I spent three months decluttering (plus a month I spent in 2016). I got rid of a lot of stuff. Now, my apartment feels clear and I feel lighter. Before I move, I’ll do it again.
It’s a waste of energy to take things we don’t need into the next chapter of our lives.
Last year, I got rid of an old printer. This year, I found that I still had the power cords from said printer. I got rid of the cords this time; they don’t need to come with me to wherever I move next.
Here’s what nobody tells you about decluttering
Clearing the stuff out is hard, even when we don’t want what we are discarding. We cling to what we have, even when we don’t love it, because letting go is painful.
But some change cannot be avoided.
Moving to a New Year is Like Moving to a New Home
You are moving next week, whether you like it or not. Moving to a new year is like moving to a new home.
Consciously or not, you will be bringing things from 2017 into 2018.
Why not make sure you bring what you want to bring, and that what you want to leave behind gets left behind for good?
Just because you open a new calendar on January 1 doesn’t mean you get a blank slate. What you don’t acknowledge and resolve will come with you and weigh you down.
Whether you’ve got momentum in the right direction and want to continue to sustain it and grow, or you’ve been stuck and need to find a better way, you must harvest the wisdom and release the disappointments of the past.
Even if you think you had an awful year, I promise you this: you did something right.
You’re here, breathing. You are alive. You made it. You won the year.
Now the challenge is to use what you’ve learned to fuel your growth next year.
My Invitation to You
For several years I have led people through a powerful process in which we “declutter” and “pack up” the year before we move to the next year. This year I am so excited to share this process beyond the confines of my NYC communities.
Join me on Thursday, December 28, at 2 pm EST, from the comfort of your home. You can tune in on Facebook Live. (If you cannot make it, register below and I’ll send you the recording). Here’s the invitation:
What We Will Do
Think of it as a KonMarie for your year. Before we move into the new year, we will declutter and pack up the current year.
We will pull out everything that happened in 2017, examine it and sort it into piles. Then we will decide what to keep and what to toss. I will show you how to get rid of the unwanted stuff for good — so you don’t carry any spare parts with you. We will pack up what we’re taking in a way that makes it easy to use in 2018.
What You Will Get From this Process
Here’s what you can expect to walk away with:
- Awareness that 2017 wasn’t as bad as you thought. Don’t think you have successes? I will shine the light to help you see them. You’ll leave riding a wave of confidence and clarity — a stronger foundation from which to build in 2018.[spacer size=”10″]
- You will let go of your disappointments in a way that is healthy and serves you so that you don’t carry the baggage into 2018. Enter the new year feeling free of the energy that is dragging you down.[spacer size=”10″]
- You will harvest the gold — the powerful wisdom and lessons — hidden in your biggest and smallest successes, and in your disappointments. It’s like checking the pockets for cash before throwing away the old clothes.[spacer size=”10″]
- You will have the wisdom from 2017 easily accessible to you in 2018 when you need it so that you don’t need to repeat the hard-earned lessons.
Plus, I will share the framework I use to plan my year that keeps me focused on what I desire to create without getting trapped in the goal tunnel.
The Value of this Process
What would your 2018 look like if you planned it from a place of confidence and positivity, resting on the strength of all you did right in 2017, rather than as a reaction to what went wrong?
For me, it’s a completely different year.
Freedom lies in our ability to choose how to direct our path. To plan from a place where I feel connected to my purpose, aligned with my truth and clear on my path is so much more powerful than to plan as a reaction to what happened in the past.
This is My Gift to You
I am so excited to offer this as my gift to you.
Can’t make it? Register below, and I will send you the recording so you can do it on your own timing.
Whether you do this with me or on your own, please create space for yourself to engage in this process. I promise that it will set you up to win in the coming year, no matter what happens.
Ready or not, we are moving into a new year. Let’s pack up and get ready to rock.
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