Everyone has them. Those spaces in our minds and in our environment that we don’t want other people to see. Truth be told, we don’t even like to look at them ourselves and so we avoid them altogether, fooling ourselves into thinking they don’t exist.

Garbage dumps can be anything that you actively avoid, the dumping ground for all things unwanted, unpleasant and embarrassing. They can be the ugly mess in your office that you just don’t want to deal with or they can be the mental space that triggers an emotional response.

Sometimes you don’t even know what those garbage dumps are until you trip over them, literally or figuratively. Your unreasonable anger or fear towards them signals that it’s more of an issue for you than maybe you were willing to acknowledge.

Often people have so much crap built up in their garbage dumps that they don’t even know where to start (enter procrastination – please link to The Truth about Procrastination). The important thing to know is that you are not alone and that everyone has them. The key is doing something about it.

Big Fat Lies

#1 The person who dies with the most stuff wins.

#2 Being surrounded by your stuff keeps you safer, like a castle for a princess.

#3 You’ll get to it later, it’s not really affecting you right now. Seriously, no biggy.

Str8up Truth

#1 All that stuff gets you the grand prize and one way trip of living in a prison.

#2 Your castle assures you are never realizing your awesome that you are here to express and experience.

#3 All you have is now. You’re spending twice the energy to produce half the results by putting this off to some other time.

It’s tempting to continue to ignore them. Why not? They only bother you when you see them so if you don’t see them, no problem, right? Wrong! The problem with leaving them is that they start to fester and grow, affecting other areas of your life and sucking up mental space and precious energy like the best Dyson out there. Avoidance leaves you feeling drained and lacking the confidence and energy you need to do the things you want to do.

If left long enough, your garbage dumps start to manifest themselves in physical, not-so-pleasant ways in your life. It’s like something finally gives because of all this negative energy that you are trying to ignore and hold in.

A recent experience with my own (literal) garbage dump reminded me of the importance of getting rid of the garbage that is bothering you. Because of our renovation, our yard was a mess. It bothered me so much that I couldn’t even look in that direction.

(Watch the video above if you want to get a look at it. I can’t believe I’m inviting you to do that!)

All it took to solve the problem was a quick call to our contractor and it disappeared. Once it was gone, the energy that was released was unbelievable. I was now able to appreciate the progress we had made on our renovation and just be present in my environment.

Stop putting all your energy into avoiding and resisting your garbage dumps! Take action and get rid of them!

Make a list of anything and everything that is bothering you and attach a timeline to when you are going to get it handled. Even if it takes committing 5 or 10 minutes a day for the next few weeks to get it all cleared out!

Why am I being so hard on you about a little clutter? Because I know you have it, and you need that energy to focus on what it is you want to do, what you are amazing at, and ultimately want to achieve. Getting rid of your garbage dump will create a tremendous amount of clarity and unlock the energy you need to pursue your awesome.

Need help clearing out some of that garbage? Or someone to hold your hand while you admit it? Schedule your one-on-one coaching session today!