Ditching the Emotional Junk Drawer

Since moving to a new house, I'm finding boxes filled with things I never knew I had- or wanted to have. All those doo-dads that fit into junk drawers all over the house, for no real reason except to have them 'just in case'.  In case of what? I seriously doubt any emergency situation is going to call for used birthday candles or those assorted screws I found five years ago!

I won't allow junk drawers in my new house. They have no purpose, and all they do is take up space. 

But wait a second- what kind of junk drawers do we have in our heads? All those stupid little thoughts that remind us of our failures, dumb things we did, and bad decisions we made throughout our lives. You know the ones- those thoughts that seem to come out of nowhere and sting nearly as much as the original event. 

Like the time I entered a Renaissance Faire Octoberfest contest and did so badly I won a prize for worst poem? I beat the guy who was half-drunk and ended all his poetry with 'And stuff.' I pride myself on spinning verse well, and even though that happened years ago, it still stings me to this day.

That's a junk drawer thought!

But how do you get rid of these thoughts? It depends on the thought itself. In my case, I plan on making it back to that contest and try again- even if I don't win, I faced one of my biggest fears. That's what matters!

Basically, if it's something I can change, I will. Forgiving someone who's really hard to forgive. Learning from mistakes. Letting go when you can't change something- this is a big one for me, because some things (like relationships, someone's cherished item I'd broken) just can't be mended, no matter how hard you try.

And when that thought comes back to haunt you, fling it back out into the trash. Tell it that it has no relevance anymore. You aren't like that now, you've left that behind- anything to turn that thought in the opposite direction- and out of your head.

These thoughts are like stray animals- keep feeding them and they'll never go away! Don't let these junk drawer thoughts stick around to clutter up your life. Fight those emotional battles! Challenge yourself! Change them from 'How could you have done that?' to 'I beat that!'

Declutter your mind, and stop tripping over your own thoughts!