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TERRI: Hey, I'm Terri Savelle Foy, your cheerleader of dreams.
Hey, if you've never subscribed to this podcast, just push the
little red button right there to get consistent teaching, tools,
and tips to help you live your dreams. In fact, today I want to
talk to you about decluttering your life. Less mess, less
stress. Let me ask you, how often has the stress in your
life been related to a messy environment or a disorganized
space? Did you know that your mood is affected by your
surroundings? In fact, according to the Centers For Disease
Control, they said 80% of our medical expenditures are stress
related, 80%! Well, one of the most life-changing, therapeutic,
peace producing task you can pursue is to create a
clutter-free environment around you. Well, I was reading where
90% of Americans say disorganization at home or work
has a negative impact on their lives. 65% say clutter effects
their state of mind. 53% said it reduced motivation, and 40% say
it just leaves them feeling unhappy. Bottom line, the mess
causes stress. Well, it's peaceful when you know where
things are. You think about it, if you could find everything you
needed when you needed it, imagine how less complicated
your life would be. In fact, scientific studies have actually
linked clutter and disorganization to depression
and anxiety; isn't that amazing? So messy rooms, misplacing
items, being late, missing appointments, those are all huge
contributors to anxiety and stress that stem from being
disorganized. So what I'm saying is that clearing your space
clears up your mind as well. You know, when I wrote the book on
Declutter Your Way To Success, I started learning things about
how clutter tends to make us feel like life is just out of
control. Well, apparently a big majority of us feel that life is
out of control. In fact, 65% of Americans feel their home is
disorganized. Well, I put some stories in here from
professional organizers like Hazel Thornton, and she said,
"There's no one who calls me who isn't stressed out, frustrated,
feeling inadequate, incompetent in their job, and just feeling
guilty." She said, "It's all about emotions." She said,
"Definitely, it's more about the emotions than it is the stuff."
Well, one point I want to make real quick is, when your
surroundings are filled with memories of the past you tend to
remain in the past, you're prone to keep looking back rather than
focusing forward on the new things God has for you. So you
may have items in your house that are holding you back
emotionally and you have no idea what a negative toll it's taken
on you. You know, it could be sentimental items from a former
love, or even photos that bring up negative memories every time
you look at these pictures it takes you back to the past, it
could be gifts from old friends or clothing with bad memories
attached to them. I just want to point this out real quick
because items that bring up uncomfortable emotions, they
need to be removed. I'm telling you it'll be challenging, I
admit, but the rewards of freedom are priceless, trust me,
I speak from experience, just get rid of it. If you have
pictures of ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends, ex-spouses that
just every time you look at them it takes you into a tailspin of
depression, just get rid of it, get it out of your sight.
Remember this, holding on means not letting go. Well, God has so
much more for your life. You have not seen your best days
yet. But your clutter could be preventing you from recognizing
the new things that are awaiting you. In fact, in an article by
Amanda, her last name's Enayati, she said, and the article was
called Why Clutter Matters And Decluttering Is Difficult, she
tells a eye-opening story of pouring her heart out to a
professional organizer, Jennifer Hunter. Now, Amanda said to her,
she said, "I feel like if I could just get rid of all this
clutter I could go on and do great things." Well, the
organizer said, "Maybe that's why you keep the clutter."
Without any hesitation she just said that. Amanda was shocked
and she felt a little defensive, "Surely she's not insinuating
that my disorganization and clutter was some sort of
internal excuse for underachieving in life." Or
maybe she was. I'm absolutely convinced that there is a direct
link between organization and success. The organization of
your surroundings reflects the organization of your life. So to
put it mildly, clutter blocks success. Where there's clutter
in your home, there will be a degree of clutter in you. So, I
only know how to share from experience, so I think it's
interesting that my first directive, which you've probably
heard, was to get my life in order, in 2002. It wasn't to
write books, read books, you know, prepare to do a podcast
one day, no, it was to clean up my house. Well, right after I
got things in order I was promoted as a senior vice
president of a worldwide organization. Well, I think it's
interesting, 12 years later in 2014, I received another
directive from the Lord in prayer and he said, "Three Ps:
purge, prepare, perfect." I wasn't real clear on what the
Lord meant by that instruction, but I took it literally. Little
by little, junk had just been piling up in closets, in
cabinets, and just cluttered, and I was under a lot of stress.
Well, I like to say I had become clutter blind. Well, I clearly
mapped out what needed to be done in order to make each room
in the house excellent. I didn't stress out about it. I devoted a
little bit of time each day, like 20 minutes a day, to this
purge, prepare, perfect directive. Little did I know,
three months later God would instruct me to not only put my
house up for sale, which I had no intention of doing, but to
also resign my position as CEO, move to a new city, and start
this organization from scratch. Now, without my knowledge, this
attention to excellence was another preparation for
promotion. But you know what? I was ready. The house was in
shape. Once the home was in excellent condition, we sold it,
we moved to another city, we launched this organization, and
God has exceeded our greatest expectations. I mean,
seriously, the growth, the increase, the favor of God has
been unprecedented. Well, I'm telling you this because I am
convinced that purging, preparing and perfecting the
little things in life, they're a prerequisite for your success.
In fact, 2 Timothy 2:21 says, "If a man therefore purge
himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified
and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good
work." So this encourages us to just get prepared by excelling,
clearing out the clutter, and getting things in order. I know
you might even be thinking, "Terri, this is ridiculous. I
could care less about this stuff." And I understand. But I
can't stress enough that it's these little habits and personal
standards that truly enable us to soar to new heights. It's all
about preparation for where God wants to take you. You've heard
the Scripture, if you're faithful in the little things,
you'll be ruler over many things. Well, as a special
bonus, I want to give you the first two chapters of my latest
book, Declutter Your Way To Success. Because I want to give
you a plan, a map on how to get started. You won't be
overwhelmed with where to start. You're going to have a practical
step-by-step outline to start with one room, and I'm going to
keep you motivated to finish. Now, keep in mind, real quick,
everyone's idea of a clean, clutter-free, organized home
will be different, so don't feel guilty about what you decide is
best for you. The goal is to create order, tranquility, and
new behavior patterns that lead you to a more productive,
rewarding, mostly stress-free life. So I love what David Crank
said, "Every step towards order brings you peace." Less mess,
less stress. Did you enjoy this today? I hope you did. In fact,
I wanted to mention, give a little shout-out to our
subscriber of the week, Aydra Harris. So Aydra
Harris wrote this, she said, "Terri, as we speak, I am in the
process of decluttering my home. I began this regain of my life
on New Years Day." And she said, "I have one more day to
completion. My set goal was the end of February," and then she
said, "shout-out to myself," I love that, she said, "because I
honestly believe that God has a magnanimous," I've got to really
practice that word, "magnanimous blessing to give me upon my
completing this process." You know what, Aydra, I believe that
with you. Then she said, "I love your vids. Thank you for being
transparent, Aydra Harris." Well, Aydra, I am cheering you
on. I'm so proud of you for taking action and decluttering
your home, and I believe it is a prerequisite for success. So I
want to help you with not only getting your surroundings in
order, but get your life in order. Hey, be sure to follow me
for consistent motivation on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and
Pinterest. You can find the handles below. Or click the
little red subscribe button for weekly videos to
make this your best year. Thank you so
much for watching. I'll see you next week.
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