Decluttering

Introduction:

A while back, someone close to me shared a story about waking up one morning to see their cooking gas wouldn’t turn on.

After struggling for nearly fourty-five minutes to an hour, trying to pinpoint the issue without success, they sought help.

So, it turned out their cooking gas required a software update, yes, you read that right, a software update, and once it was done, it worked perfectly again.

Wild, right?

That’s the world we live in now, filled with technology and smart home systems designed for comfort and convenience.

So, despite occasional hiccups like software updates, these modern devices are the future.

Now, this isn’t a pitch for smart home gadgets.

The point of this story ties into our topic today: sometimes, to embrace newer, more efficient tools, we need to let go of outdated ones.

Yet, letting go can be tough, especially when we’ve grown so attached to what we’ve always known.

This is the basis of our conversation today.

Discussion:

In this context, our "home" symbolizes our personal lives.

We all have aspirations; new things we need, want, or desire, to reflect personal growth, progress, or to create a more fulfilling and easier life.

These could be goals we aim to achieve, the kind of relationships we want to attract, or even the kind of spaces we want to be in.

Yet, for some reasons, it often feels like we can't quite figure out how we'd make all these a reality.

Perhaps the answer lies in a simple truth: we haven’t created space for them in our lives.

That’s what decluttering is all about, making room; and in this case, making room for the things we need.

■ Accessing What Needs To Go 

To welcome new things into our lives, we must first identify what needs to leave our "home" immediately.

By looking inward with a mindset of honest and thorough self assessment, we can pinpoint aspects of our lives that don’t align with the future we envision.

Here, our habits, relationships, and environment stand out, as they are like the rooms that make up our personal "home."

When it comes to our habits, we know that to become the person we aspire to be, we must adopt the behaviors of that person well before we fully embody them.

If we seek an excellent life, we must first examine our current behaviors, identify those that conflict with the virtues of excellence, and then work diligently to build the discipline needed to phase them out.

The sooner we let go of habits that don’t serve our goals, the faster we move toward achieving them.

For our relationships, a good measure of which ones may need to make way for others is the level of understanding and peace they bring.

Toxic relationships breed chaos, forcing us to constantly fix what’s broken or incompatible rather than fostering complementarity, appreciation, or respect for our individuality.

While some may feel unlucky in relationships, the truth is that the signs are often clear from the start.

If someone’s behavior doesn’t align with our expectations early on, we’re likely to face hurt down the road.

To build harmonious connections, we must seek out people who share our values and vision for what relationships should be.

As for our environment, making space means moving into places that offer opportunities aligned with our dreams.

The spaces we occupy play a critical role in the opportunities available to us.

Creating space for what we need often requires the discomfort of stepping out of our comfort zones into environments that challenge us to grow.

This growth opens the door to opportunities we’re now ready to seize.

■ Why We Hold On to the Old

Even after identifying what needs to be removed from our lives, we often find ourselves clinging to certain things.

This tendency can be explained under our three key areas:

▪︎ Habits

When we sell our self respect in tough times, we’ll try to buy it back when things improve; but it doesn't work that way.

So we can as well behave today, in ways that match how we want to be treated tomorrow.

As we begin to shed certain habits, those around us may ridicule our new standards, labeling us as delusional, arrogant, or both.

If we lack resolve, we may falter in our discipline and slip back into old patterns that keep us stuck.

This shouldn’t happen.

We must be bold enough to uphold our standards, embracing excellent behaviors even if others deem us unworthy of them.

▪︎ Relationships 

In relationships, we usually hold on for too long due to factors like: the nature of the bond, the length of the bond, the hope for change, or our vision of what the bond can become.

Yet, deep down, we often know when a relationship no longer serves us.

The truth is, until we muster the courage to let go of unhealthy entanglements, we’ll struggle to attract or maintain the meaningful connections we truly desire.

▪︎ Environment 

We see people stay in environments that stifle their potential simply because they’re familiar or tied to certain relationships.

This is self limiting.

Here, the common excuse is that we can still achieve great things from our small, familiar spaces.

Yet, sometimes we must venture out there to bring those great things back to our own place.

When we make moves that align with our aspirations, we create space in our lives for what we truly want.

■ Decluttering: The Divine Exercise

As believers, decluttering is deeply reflected in our relationship with God.

In His boundless love, God invites us into a relationship when we simply believe in Him, regardless of our past sins or the chaos we’ve made of our lives.

Once this bond is formed, we welcome Him into our "home," where He begins to clear out everything unfit for the life of service He has called us to in this new relationship.

Through discipline, pain, and discomfort, we witness Him dismantle parts of our lives to rebuild them anew.

We may lose businesses, relationships, possessions, or anything else that doesn’t align with our new identity in Him.

This process is far from easy, but the transformation into who we become and the fulfillment of a new life in Him make our restoration complete, whole, and deeply satisfying.

It all begins by simply believing; and we can transform our "home."

Summary:

We’ve reached the end of another heartfelt discussion, my friend.

It’s always a joy connecting with you, and there’ll always be space for you in my life.

Here’s to a wonderful weekend!

Master Apprentice.

www.x.com/truekingmaker