Spring into action! (written Oct 2007)

It’s October already, the weather is warming up and Spring is well under way.

When I think of Spring, it conjures up images of cool sunshine, bright yellow daffodils, tiny pink newborn babies, soft white bunnies, skipping lambs, fresh blue skies, birds chirping happily, new growth sprouting through the warm, moist soil, spring cleaning and freshening up my home, and generally warming up, opening up, unfurling and creating new beginnings. And although it’s October already, you’ve got just enough time before the Christmas decorations need to be unpacked, to leave behind the old and what’s no longer useful in your life & create the new beginnings you desire.

A few weeks ago, I watched a fascinating TV show called “Make My Family Over”. A family who were into rock bands and goth culture were living in a cramped house that was untidy, cluttered and in disrepair. They’d become so swept up in life’s daily demands that the parents had never gotten around to having the wedding they’d always wanted, one of the teenage children was still sleeping on the lounge couch, and they lived in total chaos. Their goth band practice took place in the kitchen, the living area was “decorated” with skeletons and a coffin, and the two family vehicles were broken down and rusted. The parents had worn their long hair dyed black for as long as they could remember and all of their friends agreed that it was time for a new look.

The family were given the opportunity to start over completely. Their home was renovated and decorated throughout, including the addition of a fully equipped sound recording studio and a swimming pool. Both family cars were pimped inside and out, and each of the family members were given a complete personal makeover. It all culminated in a dream wedding and party for family and friends, and of course everyone was thrilled and crying with joy.

There are lots of these sorts of extreme makeover shows, and we love watching them. We all want new beginnings and opportunities to start over and leave the burdens, clutter and overwhelm behind. We won’t all get the opportunity to go on an extreme makeover show, but we can all have fresh starts in life. But fresh starts don't happen automatically. You have to create fresh starts. And if you want to be focused on your fresh start goals, you need to remove distractions by completing unfinished business, cleaning out the unnecessary garbage and leaving behind the disappointments of the past.

The Zagarnic Effect is a theory that explains that, when we have unfinished business, it continues to hold some of our attention, and this may prevent us from giving our full attention to what we really want in life. The Zagarnic Effect was demonstrated in a study in which two groups were given puzzles to solve. The first group was given an easy puzzle that they were all able to solve. The second group were given a more difficult puzzle that couldn’t be solved within the time limit. Both groups were contacted some years later and asked about the puzzle. The people who had been in the group that didn’t solve their puzzle still remembered what the problem was about, but the people in the group that solved their puzzle had forgotten what their puzzle was about. Whilst an issue remains unsolved, our unconscious mind remains committed to remembering it and attempting to resolve it. It’s only when we complete or resolve the issue that our full attention is available to be focused on our goals for the future.

Neither failure nor success is ever final. Failure can always be left behind and success needs to be renewed everyday. If there's anything new you want in your life, you've got to make room for it – both physically and emotionally. If you want to improve your look, start with clearing out your cupboards and giving away clothes you haven't worn in a long time. If you want to embark on a new focus at work, clear your workspace and complete the old tasks you've been procrastinating. If you want new relationships in your life, start by cleaning up your relationship messes and letting go of the old disappointments and pain.

Make a list of “unfinished business” that may be siphoning energy away from what you want to be focusing on. Then take Jack Canfield’s advice (“25 Principles of Success”) and make the decision to either “do it”, “delegate it” or “dump it” to make space for the new experiences, opportunities, perspectives and relationships you want instead.