Are there super low rise jeans hanging in your wardrobe?
We all know the advantages of a good wardrobe clear out. It is something that a lot of us strive to do on an annual basis. Those that do not (and I raise my hand here) usually wish they did. We do this or would like to do this because we know that a wardrobe filled with items that no longer suit us, fit us, or are no longer relevant takes up valuable space and causes unnecessary confusion when we are deciding what to wear. Having an overcrowded wardrobe makes it hard to see what we have to work with.
Ideally, we enlist a wardrobe consultant or a friend. Someone to go through your wardrobe with you. To tell you if something no longer suits you. Or what you should wear with the newly bought olive green skirt.
If we could get a handle on what we own, what needs to go, and what can be reused, then we are sure that we would not need to invest in much, if anything, new.
If we noticed gaps in the wardrobe, we would know what to buy because we would have a clear view of what is there, what is missing, and what will complement everything we already have.
A wardrobe cleanout, spring cleaning the house; a fresh lick of paint every few years; new bathroom towels...all these things are ongoing maintenance of your surroundings.
Tidying up is billed as life-changing, with millions of people have taken the KonMari approach to remove items from their surroundings that do not spark joy. Tidying and cleaning (thank you Mrs. Hinch!) are the new therapy. But we rarely, if ever, do a mental tidy up until things come to a head and we no longer have a choice.
A mental check-in is taking a look at your internal wardrobe, and removing things that no longer fit you or serve you—taking time to cut through the hoards of conflicting information you have been storing to find what will work for you and what you want.
Take dieting, for example; we store the information we learned in home economics; the snippets from Instagram; the feedback from Accountancy Carol's 2-week stint on Atkins in 2012; and then we have the juice diet, the keto diet, the ‘JLo fit at 50' diet, the 5:2 diet.
We have all this knowledge, and each bit piled on top of one another in the mental wardrobe. It is hard to see which ones are right, which one works for us and how to decipher each one.
We also have the ideas we picked up over the years and have not questioned since. The fear of speaking up in meetings for fear of judgement is the equivalent of low-rise jeans – sure it felt relevant in 2001 (did it, though?); now, with 20 years' experience under your high-rise belt, it is probably no longer valid.
"I can't run", "I don't have time", "I don't know what to do", "I don't know where to start", "it doesn't work for me", "I can't stick with it", "I tried it before", "I'm too fat", "I'm too thin", "I'm too old"… Does this spark joy?
Taking time to have a regular mental check-in is simply a case of working with someone who will ask the questions to help you figure out what you know, believe and value and determine whether these still serve you and if you need to find out more.
We have attachments to items or a tendency to be indecisive, so a job like decluttering the wardrobe is more manageable when someone else is asking you the right questions – "do you ever wear it? How do you feel when you put it on?" Even if it is a beautiful item of clothing, if you feel like a potato when you wear it, then there is no point in keeping it.
The same is true for thoughts. The mental equivalent is... "all my friends are striving to be skinny, but when I think this way, I feel awful about myself, which depresses me"... guess what...those thoughts do not need to have a place in your brain and sometimes it’s when you speak to someone that you realise this.
Health, fitness, work, family, esteem, confidence, relationships are all aspects of our day to day thinking, so taking the time to go through the mental closet to review the contents will move you forward in many ways. Quite often, cognitive fashion disasters are apparent once you know where and how to look at them. The things that hold you back, stand in your way, or cause your stress can be identified, corrected, recycled, or replaced.
Between 96-98% of everything we do daily is subconsciously performed, which means we do not consciously consider why or how we are doing things.
Think of how often you drive somewhere familiar, only to realise you have gone the whole way on autopilot. Therefore it means only 2-4% of what we do is consciously performed. So, while we consciously tell ourselves that we will eat healthily, our subconscious makes us reach for the biscuits at 3 pm.
With a mental check-in, we pull the subconscious into the conscious, we look, and correct anything that needs updating so when we continue day to day, we are doing it with the perfect wardrobe.
I have had clients who feel they do not have time for themselves or feel they can no longer do what they used to because they are older or have been hurt. Once we cut through this mental overload and pull out what is accurate and relevant, they could begin to put together a plan that works for their lives, capabilities, goals, and expectations, meaning they remain motivated and succeed.
Once the perfect mental wardrobe is identified, it eliminates all the unnecessary stresses, worries, and doubts that generally accompany us through our day.
You have teeth; go to the dentist; you have hair, brush it; you have a car, bring it for a service. You have medical check-ups, weight check-ins, optician visits, chiropodist, manicure, pedicure, facials, and massages. Your physical self and your physical surroundings are regularly reviewed and maintained. Do not ignore the one thing that governs and influences them all.
If you are curious about starting this mental decluttering, click here to sign up for a free consultation or join our mailing list at www.rebalance-lifestyle.com. Rebalance Lifestyle is a unique service that uses mindset and mental health therapy to help you overcome obstacles, identify your goals and succeed. With a background in personal training, meditation, and physical fitness for medical issues, Rebalance Lifestyle can provide a complete mental and physical audit and help you identify a plan that works for you.
