Who Switched Off My Brain?

I was recently introduced to a very interesting book called "Who Switched Off My Brain" by Dr. Caroline Leaf.

It's a short book, but a fascinating read about how our amazing brains work.

You may wonder what this has to do with organizing, but what it said about dealing with our memories and emotional clutter was right on the money.

When we have emotional stuff that we aren't dealing with in good ways, that affects the mind in a variety of ways. First of all, it releases toxic chemicals into our blood stream and that affects everything in our bodies negatively. It can go so far as to actually shut down parts of our brain so that we don't function well. Instead of making wise choices and decisions, we end up responding emotionally - usually negatively. That seldom does much to help us.

So taking the time to deal with feelings of anger, bitterness, guilt, regret and other negative emtions like that is very important to our mental health. Learning to forgive others and to come from a place of love is far better for your brain - and all the rest of you too.

One way to deal with emotional clutter is to journal. Simply write about what is going on in your life - and most importantly, how you feel about that. It is very healthy to get your emotions out so you can face and deal with them. But it is far wiser to write about them in a journal than to stuff them inside and then blow the lid at some inopportune time.

I can attest to the wisdom of this. I grew up in a family where there were things that you just didn't talk about. I know first hand how crippling that can be and how freeing it was for me when I learned that I could acknowledge that I was feeling angry or hurt or some other negative emotion. I came to see that those emotions were there for a reason - they were telling me that there was something I needed to deal with. It's been a journey learning how to do that, but one I am immensely grateful for.

Getting back to the organizing. If the purpose of getting organized is to be able to do more or to do it better, getting the emotional clutter cleaned up goes a long way to making it easier to do that.

The 24-Hour Rule

One area of clutter or chaos that we probably don't often think about is our mind and emotions. Yet it can be one of the most important areas to deal with.

Today I want to share a great idea I recently heard via Harvey Mackay. He tells the story of Don Shula, a professional football coach. One of the reasons for Shula's great success was something he called the 24-Hour Rule.

The basic idea of this rule was that regardless of whether his team won or lost, they had 24 hours during which they could celebrate their victory or brood over a defeat. They were encouraged to feel their emotions - of success or of failure - as deeply as they could.

But once the 24 hours was up, all of that was to be put behind them and they were now to focus all their energy on the next game coming up. It was a powerful way of keeping both victory or defeat in perspective.

So what about us? Do we have a way of clearing the decks emotionally? When things go wrong, as they always will at some point, do we brood and fret over the mistakes we or others made till it drags us down to discouragement and failure? Or do we feel what we feel, face it, deal with it and move on?

I really like this idea of giving yourself 24 hours to face whatever is going on, and then putting it behind you and moving on. What do you think?