Marie Kondo is a guru on decluttering and organizing tips.
One of the greatest pieces of advice she gives is to hold an item or a piece of clothing and ask yourself if it sparks joy. The thing I love about this process is that it is intuitive and trusts our own inner wisdom.
Too often we don’t trust ourselves when making decisions, rather we rely on the other voices in our head. The other voices are what society, family, friends or religions tell us we need to do. But to understand what is important or what sparks joy is trusting ourselves rather than what others tell us we should believe or feel.
This concept is true of decluttering and organizing, but it is also true of self-care. The question is, how do we know what gives us joy or what do we enjoy doing? This may sound like a dumb question, but if you’ve been listening to the outside voices rather than your own inner voice, it may be difficult to know what you really enjoy.
To help find the inner voice, pause and breathe deeply in and out a couple of times. Then think about an activity. When you think about this activity what is the first feeling, emotion or thought that comes to mind? Is it a feeling of joy or of dread? Does the activity increase your energy or make you want to go and hide under the covers or binge watch Netflix? These are important messages our mind is giving you. This is your true self asking to be seen, heard and validated.
Finding out what we truly enjoy isn’t a long drawn-out process. It will only take a few minutes. When you are trying to decide how to practice self-care by doing the things you enjoy, pause and breath. What comes to mind? What does that feel like? Listen to those inner feelings and act on them. And as with any new practice it takes time to feel comfortable with it. Keep trying, even if it doesn’t feel right the first time.
Marie Kondo’s question of what sparks joy helps people to declutter and organize. Asking ourselves the same question about what we enjoy doing is a way to care for ourselves. This can help us uncover what is truly important in our lives. And isn’t this the best way to live – being guided by our most important values?
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