Lessons From Moving: Declutter Your Mind
I must confess that one of the things I strongly dislike in life is moving to a new house. I can remember back to the first time my family moved. I was about 9 or 10 years old and we picked up and moved from Omaha, Nebraska to Louisville, Kentucky. I can remember being so sad to leave our house that had so many memories in it. I’ve had a similar feeling of dread during every move I’ve had. I’ve always been curious why this was. What was it about moving that hit me so hard? I am currently in the middle of moving into a new house with my family and I have been reflecting on the feelings I have been experiencing during the move. I think I have had a moment of clarity that I would like to share with you this week.
I have a hard time letting things go. This goes for physical things like an old t-shirt that has sentimental value but it also goes for mental and emotional things as well. You could say that I am a bit of a ruminator, over-thinker, and over-processor. This has led to a large amount of growth in my life but has also led to carrying a heavier burden than is ever necessary. Imagine going out on a ruck march and picking up every piece of garbage and twig that has fallen on the ground and adding it to your already weighted down pack. By the end of your ruck, the ground will be clean, but the weight has increased immensely since the start. Doesn’t sound so bad though right? You did a good deed after all. Now imagine that next week you go out on another ruck march and rather than cleaning out your pack from all the trash you picked up last time, you just push it all down a bit to make room for the trash you will collect on this march. And then the next one and the next one. Until you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders and wondering how things got so heavy.
I don’t mean for this to sound dramatic but I have a feeling that I am not alone in this style of thinking. It becomes a habitual way of thinking and processing our days. We judge our overall effectiveness for tasks that we completed during the day and then hone in on the things we need to improve upon. We dissect our imperfections trying to find out why we thought the way we did or why we reacted that way. Then we fall asleep thinking about it some more and we wake up to do it again the next day. Our brains become cluttered with things to do and ways to fix and improve ourselves. This leads to anxiety, self-doubt, and confusion. But what if we put down the ruck sack for a minute and emptied it out to make room for the things that are more important to carry with us?
In my reflection on my dread of moving, I have discovered that I have a hard time letting go and decluttering. At first, I thought it was just with my material things but the more I reflected, the more I realized it was with my mental baggage as well. I needed to let go of the past. I needed to trust that I had processed the past and took lessons learned away from it and truly let it go. It has been challenging to do. I’ve found that journaling has helped so I can get it out of my head and put it somewhere else. Through this process, I’ve found a weight lifted off of my shoulders and if this resonates with you, I hope you’ll try the same thing. Empty out your ruck sack and let the trash go to make room for what is truly important. Being always in pursuit is heavy enough, do yourself a favor on this one.
--Daren