Do you keep all of your movie tickets, stuffed toys, medals and/or other items from your youth? People often have more than what they need because of their attachment to memories. It’s important to find ways to honour those memories and be able to let them go even if it means only partially parting. That’s when getting creative helps by looking outside the box to finally let go of the past and make room for the new.
Creative projects:
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Take photographs and then part with the actual items.
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Showcase sentimental items:
Do you have a collection of textiles (ie. t-shirts, jerseys,) from your youth, our your childrens? Try making a quilt or framing them. If they’re that important to you, FIND a way to showcase them.
Processing and Sharing:
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Share and care: Find someone to share these memories with to help you let go. Many of our clients can let go once we’ve listened to and witnessed the story behind their precious items.
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Sit Down Sunday: Take time once a week to sit down with your sentimental items and go through them slowly. One by one say goodbye and even feel free to write a journal entry of how you feel. You could also write the actual story of how you got it and how it impacted your life.
Becoming aware of why you are keeping something is key to letting it go and helps in recognizing old belief systems that hold you back from living in the now.
EXERCISE: How you can face your fears
If you want to lighten up and and let go, try this exercise. Divide a piece of paper into three columns. In the first column, write down all of your fears with letting go of a particular belonging or several. In the second column, write what the worst case scenario could be if that fear came true. In the third column, remember and record a similar situation that you walked out of with success. Reflect on the strategies that you used and how you already use them in your daily life.
Now take those items you are fearful of letting go, put them in a bin, and hide them for 3 months. See how life is without them. If your fears came true, how did you deal with them? After the three months challenge yourself to let go of items that no longer serve your life goals or no longer have meaning for you.
Next month’s topic is Gearing Up For Change – The dreaded seasonal to do list.
