Ways to ‘spring clean’ and make changes in your life
Spring is here and we can use this time to make some positive changes in our lives, such as letting go, moving on and doing something new. Here’s some ideas to get you going.
Spring has definitely been in the air recently, hasn’t it? Warm days and mild nights, the perfume of blooming flowers in the air, and our horses shedding their winter coats providing a nice lining for the birds to use in their nests. Quite idyllic.
I hope you’ve all had time to do nice, warmer weather activities like go on walks or picnics, even to the beach. But, what about spring-cleaning?
We recently upgraded our leadership training facilities here in Terrey Hills, Sydney. It’s been wonderful having a beautiful new environment, but we’ve had to spend a lot of time relocating our workspace. While it’s been a big process, it’s also been a therapeutic one, as we had to let go of a lot of the ‘stuff’ we’d accumulated throughout the ten years our business has been running.
Now it’s complete, it’s a nice feeling to have everything clean and fresh. There’s nothing like spring-cleaning your workspace, but also your life.
It’s motivated me to share with you some ideas on how you do a bit of ‘spring cleaning’ of your own.
- Try to let go
There’s a lot to be said for letting go of things which aren’t helping us. Horses remind us of this all the time; they don’t hold grudges the way that humans do. They live in the present, only concerned about what is happening now – which is refreshing given our human tendency to worry about anything and everything.
The truth is, the events of the past few months have had us all on edge. And, it’s had a huge impact on our relationships with others. So, if you have any relationships that are strained at the moment, whether that be with work colleagues, family or friends, then why not try to have an honest conversation and address any bad feelings you may be harbouring.
Letting go is also about trying not to hold onto those negative thoughts we have about ourselves for too long. Perhaps it’s dwelling too deeply on what we could have done better, or thinking something was our fault when it really wasn’t. Easier said than done, but it’s worth making a conscious effort to try. And, there are resources out there which can help.
- Know when it’s time to move on
Learning when to move on can be a big skill.
Here, one of our core values is perseverance, but we also believe there is a point at which we have to realise something isn’t working and make a choice not to waste our energy any further. You know the ‘sunk-cost fallacy’? Many of us fall victim to this at some point – the feeling that we can’t quit, because we’ve already invested time, energy or money.
It may be that you and a client haven’t been working well together, and you need to have an honest conversation. Perhaps your styles just aren’t suited to each other?
Or, perhaps you had a great idea or plan in your job, but now as it’s being implemented it’s not running as well as anticipated?
Maybe you invested in a product which isn’t doing enough for your business to justify the cost. Do you keep paying for it because of the money you’ve already spent, or decide not to waste any more money?
Always remember, we learn from mistakes almost more than we learn from anything. I came across this saying and I love it,
“Don’t carry your mistakes around on your head as they will crush you. Instead, place them under your feet and use them as stepping stones”
- Do something you’ve been meaning to do
As I wrote last week, we can learn a lot from our inner child, including following our passion, but often we get so comfortable in our lives that we don’t ever seem to get around to doing things that will really make us happy.
For example, as well as our leadership training, we run courses where we ‘train-the-trainer’ in our unique equine assisted learning techniques. It was this very course that started me on the path to the career I love.
We have a lot of people contact us about this training, but sometimes it takes them as long as two to five years to actually take the plunge. One lady we had on one this year had been wanting to do it for ages but never found the time. Then, when we moved online due to COVID, she finally seized the opportunity. She was so happy with the outcome and with the possibilities it opened up to her. And, if it hadn’t been for the pandemic she may never have made that change.
That’s something to think about as we head into this new season.
What ideas do you have for spring cleaning your life? Let me know in the comments.
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