The ‘Clutter Series’ discusses important aspects of the clutter in our homes and minds, including the close relationship between clutter and our general well-being.
Click here to read a summary of the main insights of this series.
Knowing our values and our vision helps us make (decluttering) decisions easier
Before we can start to make decisions about our belongings, we have to become well aware of where we are now, how we got there, why we want to change our home/life, and where we want to go.
Having a deep understanding of our current situation, our values and our vision for the future enables us to make the right decisions during the decluttering process and to get and stay focused and motivated.
Recently, we talked about the importance of our values, today we discuss why we need a clear vision for our decluttering success.
OUR VISION
Our vision determines our direction in life.
Getting clear on where we want to go is essential for setting ourselves up for long-term success, not just a temporary adjustment.
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- It’s hard to figure out how and where to move if our mind is still occupied by the past. That’s one of the main reasons why managing change can be so demanding and frustrating.
- It can also happen that we feel stuck and unsure because we are surrounded by too many options or opportunities.
- Or we might feel lost and desperate because we don’t see any alternatives at all, no way out of the current reality.
Defining our vision of the future clearly—a simple, powerful statement, just a word or a short phrase (see exercise below)—can help us get unstuck and active.
A clear vision gives us confidence and motivates us to let go of what no longer serves us and to say ‘goodbye’ to the things and issues (thoughts, feelings) of the past.
Our vision helps us make (decluttering) decisions
Similar to our values, our vision helps us make clear decisions at the crossroads in our life – or in the middle of a decluttering process.
Whenever we have to make a difficult decision or choice, we can ask ourselves
‘Does this (activity, decision, commitment) take me closer to my vision?’
Being aware of our core values and our vision makes us feel more powerful, confident, and decisive.
In our daily lives, we often make decisions without thinking much about them. We base them on habit, convenience, conformity.
But knowing our values and our vision – and continually getting in touch with them – allows us to take a step back and to remind ourselves to live our lives with purpose, not by default.
EXERCISE
What’s the title of the next chapter of your life (your vision)?
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- Start by describing the main topics of your current life phase.
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- What’s been your main focus of this current chapter of your life? Your main goal?
- Which roles, responsibilities and tasks determine your present daily life?
- What do you like about your life today? What do you not like about it?
Imagine you were writing a book about your life – what would be the title of the current chapter? Write it down.
2. Now develop ideas and plans for your future, such as:
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- How do you want your life to be different? (In one year? In five or 10 years?)
- What are your goals for the next phase of your life?
- Who do you want to be? What do you want to do?
- Where and how will you live? How will your home look like?
- Which interests/hobbies do you have that you want to invest more time and energy in?
Continue working on your life book: What’s the title of the next chapter of your life? Write it down.
Try to define an inspiring vision that is broad enough to cover all areas of your life (personal, professional, social, at home) and keep it simple.
Listen to your intuition and not to what others might expect of you.
These are some examples of visions, expressed as ‘life-chapter headings’:
| Type of change: | Downsizing | Getting divorced | Decluttering and simplifying life |
| Theme of current life chapter: | Taking care of the family and the family home/story | Fulfilling others’ expectations | Accumulating experiences, information, stuff |
| Theme/Vision of future life chapter: | Independence and freedom, Travel time | Self-discovery and self-expression | Enjoying a spacious home and a spacious mind/life |
Now it’s your turn.
What type of change are you going through, and how do you wish to title the current and future chapters in the book of your life?
What’s your vision? What’s the title of the next chapter of your life-book?