Anna
We were on the radio a few months ago and we were asked a question:
“What does decluttering mean?”
I’ve been pondering it.
The actualising tendency (introduced by the psychologist Carl Rogers) is the belief that we innately want to grow/develop/reach our potential. An analogy that explains this is when you leave a potato in a cupboard for a long time and it starts to root.
New life starts shooting up because it’s trying to find light. It wants to live.
If a potato is like that…
There’ll be reasons behind why our homes become the way they are. But you’ll rarely find someone truly happy with a mess. Hotel rooms and holiday homes tend to be relaxing because your crap hasn’t followed you there.
The human condition actually naturally gravitates towards development. It wants to shed old skin and make progress. You might not be consciously aware of it because life is FULL of distraction and hardship now but your nervous system will still be aware of the mess.
We often try to silence that ache for growth with dopamine hits. We cover up one noise with another. If we drown out the scream for development then we won’t have to move from where we’re sat.
The reality is though, once you get on top of things and start doing the hard things, it feels AMAZING! It's so much better than the short lived dopamine hit.
Decluttering is
- Shedding off the skin that isn’t serving you anymore.
- It’s facilitating current living.
- It’s making space for future life.
Stop being the potato in the cupboard and be planted in an environment where you can grow.