Word Prompt - MESSY - Shira Boshnack

I have to tell you about a life hack that I learned about many years ago. When things feel out of control, I clean up. It’s funny. It might be that the problem has nothing to do with the state of cleanliness of my kid’s rooms. However, once I start cleaning, I feel better. It might be because I feel powerless, unable to control the situation. I feel overwhelmed, unable to do anything. When I feel like I’ve accomplished something, it makes me feel capable, useful.

So, when life’s getting messy, do one thing. You might feel overwhelmed by the number of things you have to do, or worry about a million things on your mind. Just do something; it could be small. Our brains get stuck running around in a circle, and until we break out of it, we’re going to be stuck “spinning our wheels” trying to problem-solve in a situation where we have no answer but going back over again anyway. This makes us feel even more worried and hopeless. When we do one thing, we break our cycle. We start to think a little differently and that changes our entire mindset. Cleaning the mess on the outside helps clean up the mess on the inside.