4 Things You May Want To Consider Discarding
Do you ever find yourselves holding onto something, possibly without even realizing why you’re doing it in the first place? Maybe it’s a shirt in the back of your closet that you haven’t touched in years or a friend that always leaves you feeling drained. Whether we are currently doing it or can think of a time it’s happened in the past, most of us have likely held onto something for a little longer than we maybe should have.
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Sometimes we do this knowingly, like the shirt in the back of the closet. We see it hanging there daily but still struggle to part with it out of fear we may want it one day. Other times it isn’t so obvious, like an old friend who isn’t a good fit anymore. Regardless if it’s obvious or not, the thought of discarding something can feel very overwhelming.
Today I wanted to outline four areas in your life you may wish to examine to see if you wish to discard something. Not only is this to draw attention to these areas for you, but this is also to reassure you that it’s okay to part with things that aren’t positively impacting your life.
4 Things You May Want To Consider Discarding
1. ITEMS YOU’RE NO LONGER USING
We’ve all been there: it can be very easy to collect things and very difficult to let them go. Before we know it, our homes become filled with everything from sentiment items we received 30 years ago to random clutter that is collecting dust.
There are several reasons why we may hold onto things that I’m not going to get into today, but I’d like to touch on the impact it can have on your mental health. When our homes are filled with excess things, it can increase our stress levels, make it difficult to focus, increase procrastination, and possibly create difficulties in our relationships. Discard things you are no longer using, and be mindful of holding onto other things for the sake of not wanting to part with them.
2. HABITS/BEHAVIOURS
Similar to how we can collect things that aren’t serving us without even realizing it, we can find ourselves stuck in habits or behaviours that also aren’t serving us. There are a wide variety of different habits and behaviours we may pick up, where some positively impact our lives and others may not. For example, things such as brushing our teeth, getting enough sleep, and spending time outside are positive habits that build us up, and things such as staying up all night watching TV, smoking, or not establishing a savings plan are negative habits. Habits are formed with repeated behaviours: eating a vegetable once is an action, but eating a vegetable with every single meal is a habit. This means it’s going to take an ongoing commitment to shift the negative habits into positive alternatives, but I promise you it’s worth it.
3. TOXIC THOUGHTS
It’s well known that we tend to be our own worst critics – we look at ourselves through a harsher lens. We’re more likely to pick out our own flaws or see our own shortcomings than anyone else. We overanalyze who we are and what we are doing, and are more likely to pay attention to what isn’t working than what is. Having a healthy level of criticism isn’t necessarily a bad thing – it holds us accountable and pushes us to do more in our lives, but it needs to come with a limit. The reality is that we are the only person who is going to be by our own side day in and day out for the rest of our lives. We need to be there for ourselves, believe in ourselves, and trust ourselves. Discarding toxic thoughts is not to say we need to replace them with constant positivity, but it is to say that it is important to remind ourselves of our worth.
This one can be extra tricky, especially if you are in an especially difficult season of life. If you are struggling, so please remember there is no shame in reaching out to a medical professional for help.
4. TOXIC PEOPLE
Toxic people can easily show up in our lives in several different ways, sometimes without even realizing it. This can look like the people who are never there for us when we’re struggling, and it can also look like the people who are never there for us when we are thriving. It can look like the people who constantly take from us, and it can also look like the people who make everything about themselves. Toxic people can creep up in virtually any area of our lives, often without even realizing it. If you are feeling like any of your relationships are one-sided, unhealthy, or downright toxic, you’re absolutely allowed to set boundaries, or even remove them altogether.