If you’re feeling overwhelmed with disorganization, with life seeming not quite right, or with wanting a change, but not knowing where to begin, you’ve come to the right place. The idea of change can paralyze us. We have the tools, but ignore the clues that daily life gives us. We move so fast that we don’t notice the indicators. Can you identify with this?

It’s not uncommon to go through our busy days on autopilot. We set up systems and patterns for convenience and efficiency, but as time goes on, things change. The systems that once worked no longer do. Or, the systems haven’t been maintained, so they no longer function. Maybe we never established effective systems in the first place. But we keep going. We ignore that things don’t feel right. Our piles of clutter irritate us, but we ignore them. We’re annoyed that we can’t get out of the door on time, but we keep getting out late each day anyway. We’re experiencing stress due to the disorganization on a regular basis, but we stuff those feelings away. Status quo has taken over and the way forward eludes us.

I’m proposing one simple, but not necessarily easy technique. Use mindfulness to help you focus on which changes to make. When we’re mindful of the present moment, we increase our awareness of our moment-by-moment experience. After all, how can we make a change if we aren’t fully aware of our challenges? I invite you to slow down. Instead of ignoring irritations during your day, note them. You don’t need to dwell on them, but increase your awareness of them. These will be your clues for identifying potential areas to change.

For example, let’s say that every day you are about to leave the house and you can’t find your keys. So each morning you go through the “hunting for keys” scenario, which in turn makes you late getting to your appointment. You’re annoyed and stressed, but you keep going anyway, repeating the same pattern day after day. You stuff that stress away. This isn’t healthy harboring this type of daily stress.

However, consider this one small tweak. Activate some mindfulness. Instead, the next time you’re late getting out of the door, notice what’s going on. Start by being present with the issue. Be mindful of your actions. What are you feeling? What are you doing? Use mindfulness to help you identify potential indicators for change. By living more mindfully, you can figure out strategies to help solve the “lost keys” and other challenges. You may be surprised when you become more aware and present. You might just notice where you stashed your keys when you come home at night. Or you might decide that it’s time to give your keys a “home” so that you can always find them.

Beginning with awareness is the key. What have you noticed about change? Have you used mindfulness in the process? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

We often set our intentions at the beginning of each year to make this year better. Some of us are still in the intention phase, while others have moved on to make “good” on our goals. Deciding to make changes whether that’s getting more organized, eating more healthfully, or switching careers, takes a lot of energy and motivation. Some changes are forced on us, but others, we choose to embrace. Deciding to do something different is the first step, but then there’s the actual doing or adopting new habits. It’s your consistency in engaging new habits that will bring about your desired change.

Have you identified the change that you want? If so, that’s terrific! If not, stay open to the possibilities. If you’re ready for change but can’t quite get activated to do something, I suggest trying out some of these pump priming strategies to help you move forward.

7 Pump Priming Strategies for Encouraging Change

1. Read – Find information that relates to the change you desire. One of my goals was to reestablish my daily mindfulness meditation practice. I primed my pump by reading lots of books that discuss the various aspects and benefits of mindfulness practice. Just reading the language readied me to engage in beginning again.

2. Write – Collect your thoughts around the changes you seek in a journal or other writing outlet. Doing this gears your mind in a forward-moving way. It also can help you work through challenges around change and ways to encourage the cheerleader within. I used both my personal journal and public blog to help me commit to making a change. Writing can be a form of accountability.

3. Watch – If you have the opportunity to watch any programs or movies in your desired area of change that can also help. For example, I went to a movie, In Pursuit of Silence, which included a talkback with the director. Aside from it being a wonderful movie (go see it if you can,) it supported the value of integrating quiet into your life. This aligned beautifully with my goal to reestablish my mindfulness practice.

4. Review – Looking back on other times that you were engaged in positive habits or when you successfully made changes is a great way to prime your pump for change. Remembering that success breeds more success gets you ready and in the “I can” mode.

5. Search – Don’t underestimate the value of finding a community of like-minded people who value and understand the changes you seek. Investing time to find “your people” is a way of priming your pump. I recently attended an Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness retreat led by Amy Reyer, Ph.D. She shared many local mindfulness meditation resources including local meditation groups. Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D., co-founder of the Center for Mindful Living, said, “Human connection is the ultimate ‘x’ factor in creating a sustainable practice.”

6. Connect – Talking with others about the changes you seek and the challenges you’re encountering can move you to act. It can be inspiring to talk with others who are pursuing similar changes. Supportive conversations are affirming and let you know that you’re not alone.

7. Learn – Signing up for courses that emphasize what you’re interested in changing is another great way to prime your pump. Sounds True recently sponsored a free 10-day online Mindfulness & Meditation Summit. It featured the top leaders and researchers in the mindfulness movement such as Sharon Salzberg, Kelly McGonigal, Daniel Goleman, Pema Chodron, Richard Davidson, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. After many hours of learning, it was impossible not to be excited about getting back to my practice.

These strategies do work. After a concentrated effort of pump-priming, I have re-established my daily mindfulness meditation practice. You can use these same strategies to bring about the change you seek.

What change are you ready for? What strategies help you to make the changes that you seek? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

Life is full of distractions. These distractions often have noise components that come from external and internal sources. With all of the noise and distractions, it can be especially challenging to focus on what’s most important. Noise in our environment can be overpowering. It’s essential to make time for quiet and stillness. By doing this, we create white space and breathing room. From this quiet we connect with our minds, bodies and others and ready ourselves for creativity, learning, and a fresh start. The start can be for the next moment, day, month, project or interaction.

There are many ways to bring quiet into your days. Some of us need more quiet than others. I’ve noticed that as I’ve aged, my need for quiet has increased. What have you noticed?

Mindfulness practices including meditation or integrating mindful living are ways of finding those quiet puntuations during your day. Another path to quiet is spending time with nature. You can be an observer and just sit, watch or listen. You can surround your being by taking a walk outdoors. You can set aside some time to be still and focus on the in and out movement of your breath.

All of these practices will quiet your mind, quiet your being, and give you some pause from the daily noise and distractions.

Enjoy this quiet moment . . .

How do you find quiet? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

The first of the year installment (v17) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature is here with my latest discoveries that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. I’ve included unique and inspiring fresh start-related finds, which reflect this month’s blog theme.

You are such a wonderfully engaged group and I am so grateful for you. I look forward to your participation and additions to the collection I’ve sourced. What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? . . .

1. Interesting Read – Fresh Start Rituals

With many of us feeling the hectic pace of the New Year, there is an alternative way to live. Instead of going faster, your fresh start could include slowing down. I recently finished reading this small and lovely book, Destination Simple – Everyday Rituals for a Slower Life by Brooke McAlary, an Australian writer and podcast creator of Slow Your Home. Brooke says, “… by being intentional with your daily actions you can create the simpler, happier life you want. And you can do this by harnessing the power of rituals and rhythms.” She shares five rituals to integrate into your day including single-tasking and unplugging. In addition, she suggests ways of establishing morning and evening rhythms, like routines, but more fluid and flexible.  Even if you don’t adopt every suggestion, even making one change can add more calm and happiness to your life. Brooke’s marching orders are to create a slower, simpler days and then, “… go enjoy life.”

2. Interesting Research  – Fresh Start Effect

The beginning of the year is the time when many of us set goals. It turns out that the first day of the year is a temporal landmark, which signals the beginning of a new and distinctly different period of time. Research from The Wharton School shows that these landmarks help us feel the fresh start effect, which gives us a motivation boost to help us achieve our goals. While January 1st is a common temporal landmark, there are many others we can access like a new day, new week, new month, new season, birthday or holiday. If you missed the fresh start effect on January 1st, harness the power of your next, new something. You can activate your fresh start anytime you want.

3. Interesting Experience – Fresh Start Mornings

Are you ready for a truly fun and unique way to bring a fresh start to your morning? I couldn’t resist sharing this one with you. Daybreaker creates morning events for communities in about 15 cities worldwide that infuse dance and exercise into the start of your day. Their fun formula with five core values of wellness, camaraderie, self-expression, mindfulness and mischief are wrapped in a two-hour dance experience with guest speakers and performers. It’s basically an early morning dance party. Maybe starting your day by dancing with 400 strangers isn’t your thing, but how about cranking up the music and dancing in the privacy of your own home to give your day an energizing fresh start?

4. Interesting Product – Fresh Start List

While goal setting happens several times throughout the year, there’s nothing quite like the start of a New Year to reenergize us to aim for new or reset previous goals. One of the most effective ways of hitting our goals is to write them down. This cheery #Goals pad from Knock Knock makes it easy to capture your daily, weekly or life goals. Give yourself the gift of time, grab a pen, and let your ideas fly. This blank slate will give your goals a fresh start boost. I’m excited for you just thinking about what you’ll accomplish in the coming year. Care to share with us?

5. Interesting Thought – Fresh Start Your New

The beauty of a fresh start is that you can use it to alter your perspective, shift your focus, build from your past successes, and energize yourself to experience new outcomes. What will your “fresh” bring?

What are your interesting finds? Which of these resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!