Spring clean your thoughts

We regularly clean our homes, houses and places of work. We also clean the outer part of who we are, and if we choose to detox then the inside gets a scrub too. But what about your mind? Do you clean that out too? Personally I think you should make time to do that too.

We speak thousands of words to ourselves every day, and most of the time we can be extremely guilty of putting ourselves down

"gosh that was rubbish"
"useless"
"well that didn't go very well did it"

and so on

So how can you spring clean your thoughts and refresh your mind? I think a multi-pronged approach is best.

Books - read, listen, absorb, dive into and lose yourself. BUT - don't just read motivational / inspirational stuff, or business stuff - but how about a piece of poetry, a play or a novel that you've had sitting waiting for a chance to sit down and enjoy. Switch off occasionally, you are allowed you know. If you don't feel you have the time, then why not turn your car into a place of listening to something other than the rubbish on the news or drive time radio. You find time to listen to that, so switch to something that will give your mind a rest from the constant chattering of news / guffawing and inane comments... or is that just Australian radio?

Time out - go for a walk, get out during your lunch break, wander round the art gallery, take a long leisurely bath ... whatever - but you need to do it on your own - yes including the bath. Switch everything off, TV's, radio's, stick ear plugs in if necessary, and try and speak kindly to yourself as you frivolously spend half an hour or so refreshing your mind. And breathe deeply, believe me the extra oxygen can make a massive difference to our minds and it helps stop fuzzy thinking.

Get enough sleep - most of us don't. I have been re-learning the beauty of sleep. As a reforming insomniac this is going to be a tough one for me, but the power of sleep on our minds and body is truly amazing. If you can, try an afternoon nap too - we sleep as much as we can when we are ill, so why not sleep when we're well too... the studies are showing, the more sleep we get, the better we are... hmmm pillows...

Do something bizarre or just because you can - get your "must do before you die" list out of the drawer - find something that appeals to where you are now and organise it... better still do it. Go to the movies, go rent that video you missed at the movies, find a kayaking company and book onto a tour, bake a cake, learn how to do something, find a class, get your knitting out - it doesn't matter what you do, just do something that may seem a little frivolous and ENJOY it.

We can be guilty of thinking we have all the time in the world, well I hate to break it to you - they haven't found the secret to endless life, and while we may believe in reincarnation who's to say we're not coming back as a garden slug next time...

One final thing - I don't want this "thoughtful spring cleaning" to be a once in a blue moon activity either (BTW a blue moon occurs on average every couple of years - and is a 2nd full moon in a calendar month, just in case you were wondering where that term came from - sorry I digress) so - just as you schedule appointments into your diary, I would like you to add these activities to your weekly planner too. Yes, make time for you - you deserve it you know.

And BTW - tonight I sat on the beach at Cottesloe and watched the sun set ... I too try and put the balance back into this work / life thing just in case you were wondering - it doesn't always work, but my goodness when it does...

With many frivolous and happy thoughts to each and every one of you today

Elle