SIXTY-FOUR. Spring Cleaning

So, I’m taking a break from fitness and nutrition this week to talk about something more personal and something I think we are all going through at this point in time.  Every year, around this time, this weird phenomenon happens where we feel the need to “clean”.  Maybe it’s the climb out of our winter caves that gives us this urgency to start new and fresh or maybe it’s just wanting to shed the old energy off so that we are open to something new.  I don’t know what it is.  For some of us, we clean our houses, closets, garages and even start house renovations.  But for me, this year, my spring cleaning isn’t so literal.

It’s about friendships, relationships and people that no longer serve a long-term purpose in my life.  I’m about to embark on a whole new adventure with my company that puts me in the role of leading, inspiring, influencing and hopefully touching the lives of many.  Someone is going to look to me as a coach, mentor and entrust a part of them to me.  For me to be available for someone else, I must have strength around me and weaknesses behind me.  If I want to be the best for my clients, I need to surround myself with those that bring out the best in me.  This isn’t to say that some of the people that I am moving on from are bad people, but friendships also serve their purpose.  Sometimes the arguments you had with a former friend wasn’t about anything other than not seeing eye to eye anymore, because the friendship itself had run its course.  Ask yourself how much you want someone in your life versus if it’s just something that exists.  Do you want to be a friend that just exists in someone’s life?  Or do you want to be important enough to someone where you matter?  Yeah, it’s tough to let go of people and to be the one to make that first move to do so…but maybe you are saving someone else from going through something worse.

Endings aren’t fun, but without them…beginnings can’t happen.  It’s not just people…it’s situations as well.  We outgrow jobs, hobbies and even parts of our family.  Toxic situations may be far more detrimental than a person, especially a job where someone’s well-being in on the line.  Let it go.  What are you gaining from something that causes you so much anguish?  Sleepless nights? Stress eating?  Binge drinking?  Higher dental bills from grinding your teeth?  I mean, is it worth it?  And ask yourself again, what’s holding you back?  The unknown? Fear?  Tear it off like a Band-Aid, apply some Neosporin and get moving…chances are, there is so much better waiting around the corner.

Sometimes we get the rug pulled out from under us…we land firmly on our tailbones and wince in pain because guess what…yeah it hurts.  Nurse that pain, don’t sweep it away…but don’t wallow in it.  Look around at the floor you landed on…see how much stronger it is than that rug that just slipped out from under you.  Look at how much more deeply rooted that floor is than that rug ever was.  The best part…that floor has always been under there, it never left…it’s you that covered it up with something that you saw as better.  Second chances…even third or fourth…whatever it may be…you get a chance to clean, wax and buff that floor to a shine that it’s never seen before.  Give it a makeover…make it cherry instead of walnut…put an extra layer of protectant on it so it doesn’t scratch as easy…make it work for you in the best possible way.  But remember to always keep it clean, maintained and put a little extra work it in when it gets a bit lackluster.  As for the rug…it wasn’t a bad rug…it was fluffy and comfy when you first got it.  It brightened your room…but then it started to wear, get a little grungy…no matter how much you deep cleaned it…the dirt was way too deep…started to eat away and the loops loosened…eventually it fell apart and you slipped on it.  Don’t ever blame yourself for a worn-out rug, they aren’t meant to last forever.  Not all floors can be saved, some need to be covered up, just do your due diligence and take a look before you buy a new rug…which if you do, make sure it has a better slip guard.

Spring cleaning is a time of getting rid of the old to make room for the new, maybe just bringing in new…or maybe just finally brushing off the dust to rediscover how valuable something you already have really is.  However, you look at it, I think it’s important to clean house one way or another.  I’m in the process of that now, and I have a crap ton of trash bags filled with things that will be donated so that someone else can reap those rewards like I did…and some bags are filled with things that no longer even resemble what they looked like when you first let them in your life.  It’s painful, but also freeing.  It sucks to see emptiness, especially when you are used to the clutter.  You maybe even feel lost…but it’s only temporary because now you get to bring in the new and not worry about not having enough room or having to replace something old.  Open your heart, free your soul and get after what you want.