Beyond Swedish Death Cleaning: Life Lifting
Are you ready for some life lifting to lighten your personal world?
The 2017 bestseller with a catchy name, "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning" continues to be a trendy decluttering guide. If you follow the plan outlined in the book, your home is now tidy and organized, rid of all the stuff your loved ones won't have to deal with after you are gone. Hooray!
There's just one problem — the same old you is still living there.
Consider the possibility that all that cleaning up was only the warmup before beginning the real heavy lifting — dealing with yourself. You can apply a similar approach to lighten your personal world by letting go of facets of life that no longer serve you.
Personal computers and smartphones opened exciting opportunities to know and do more, but for many they have become an addiction.
Are you ready for a "life lift"? These common clutter magnets waste our time and sap our energy. How many are you willing to minimize or throw away altogether?
De-emphasize the Digital World
Personal computers and smartphones opened exciting opportunities to know and do more, but for many they have become an addiction. There is even a term, "nomophobia," for the fear of being without a mobile device.
Studies show the average American spends over seven hours, almost half of each waking day, staring at an online screen. Shockingly, that doesn't even include an additional three hours of daily TV watching. It is not surprising that increased screen time has been linked to declining physical and psychological health.
Evaluate your use (or overuse) of technology. If you feel the need for a "digital detox," here are some life-lifting steps to decrease usage of your laptop and smartphone:
- Track your screen time. The number of hours of mindless scrolling and “rabbit hole research” you do will probably be surprising.
- Set limits. Follow the model of intermittent fasting by restricting the hours you consume online information, especially social media. Try turning off all devices (including the TV) an hour earlier and back on the next morning an hour later. Use that extra time to exercise, read a book, catch up with friends or revisit a hobby.
- Go dark. What would daily life be like if you spent a day or even a week with zero screen time outside of work requirements? Only one way to find out — take a digital “abstinence challenge.” Temporarily stepping away from all screen interaction is the best way to reevaluate your relationship with technology.
Rethink Your Relationships
The energy of those you associate with is highly contagious. Without realizing it, you can unconsciously give away your personal power by allowing outside influences to dominate your thoughts and actions.
Eternal pessimists can steal your time and energy even when they are not around if you allow yourself to fret about their gloom and doom perspective.
Perhaps you always enjoy getting together with someone, but it feels like you are doing all the work to keep the friendship going. It is fair to ask yourself if being on the giving end of such a "one-sided relationship" is worth the effort.
Continual exposure to negativity can lead to increased stress levels and a downward spiral in your own attitude. Eternal pessimists can steal your time and energy even when they are not around if you allow yourself to fret about their gloom and doom perspective.
Are the individuals in your life helping you grow or holding you back? Focus on the following life lifting ideas to seek out people who encourage your personal growth:
- Supportive relationships: Spend more time with those who support your aspirations, celebrate your successes, and are there for you during challenges.
- Constructive feedback: Be thankful for friends who provide honest and helpful feedback because they genuinely want the best for you.
- Positive influence: Consider whether the people you surround yourself with inspire you to be your best self. Positive role models can serve as sources of inspiration and motivation.
Good Habits, Bad Habits
Thank goodness for habits. They are great mental tools that free us up from having to make decisions about every single task and let us spend our energy on more fulfilling pursuits.
But habits do not always support personal growth and success. Over time our routines can ever so gradually transition from being in a groove to falling into a rut. Too much screen time, toxic relationships, negative self-talk, overeating and substance abuse are examples of negative habitual thought and behavior.
Research indicates that about 95% of the average adult's actions happen without conscious awareness. Consider these life-lifting ideas to curb undesirable habits that are keeping you from being healthier and more productive.
- Focus on being present. That means paying conscious attention to what unfolds in your daily life and how you habitually react to it. This will help reveal the cues that trigger your current reactions so you can choose to respond differently.
- Discover an unshakable “why to.” If attempts to break a bad habit have failed in the past, commit to a more powerful reason why it needs to change.
Celebrate small victories. The question is never what you can do; it is what you will do. Pick a minor permanent change you can easily accomplish today. Build on that achievement with another one tomorrow. Pause whenever you find yourself wavering, then resume the process. Consistency over time is the key to forming new habits that better serve you.
Consistency over time is the key to forming new habits that better serve you.
Life lifting raises the decluttering principles of death cleaning to another level by identifying and proactively addressing burdensome activities, relationships and habits.
As with your possessions, the task of taking an unflinching look at what you think and do can seem intimidating at first. Once you gain momentum and experience positive changes, your confidence to overcome bigger challenges will grow.
That does not mean life lifting is easy, and the job is really never done. Like tending a garden, new weeds begin appearing almost as soon as you dig up the old ones.
Nonetheless, the reward for your continual efforts is the freedom and happiness of a more fulfilling life that feels so — uplifting!
