I have written a few times about how I made transition from relocation consultant to Writer/Life Coach. I speak frequently about the mental changes I went through, and that I’m going through to adjust my work habits, etc. But there is one huge transition that I have not made that I have been dreading for the better part of a year—my office.
Guess what, I was actually on the HGTV show Mission Organization for my office. At the time of the show, I was pregnant with my first child and still a relocation consultant. Writing and coaching were not even a blip on the radar screen. My office was redesigned to fit the productivity of my former career. It worked perfectly for that profession. When my needs, my priorities, and my career began to change, my office did too …into a big mess. Thank heavens HGTV discontinued the show because they would be so ashamed of me right now! I began piling my new life on top of my old life and things were just not working. I didn’t have space for my new files because my old files (dating back to 1999) were taking up the space. I just had “stuff” everywhere and it was getting to the point of no return. I didn’t even want to be in my office. What once was a place of inspiration became a bone of contention. I did not want to feel that way about my personal space. My supposed creative space that made my stomach turn whenever I stood in the threshold. Something had to give. It was time to let go.
I stood in my office today ready to tackle this demon head-on. I made the conscious decision to change careers and therefore my lifestyle well over a year ago, but yet never really physically let it go. It was time to face the reasons why I was holding on. Aside from the fact that it would be a huge undertaking that I just did not feel like getting into, it also meant doing away with a successful business that I created single-handedly. A business that I was good at … so good that for the entire seven years of its existence, my clients came solely by referral. That speaks volumes! It was speaking really loud to me right now. How could I completely say goodbye?
I thought about buying a bunch of storage boxes and just filling them with all things “relocation” and stacking them in the basement as “archives.” Archives for what? For what purpose would that serve to have that stuff hanging around? A reminder of the good old days? Maybe. Validation? Probably. But what I soon realized was that, although everything surrounding my former business was positive, it was having an extremely negative effect on my current life and my current business. My current success is dependent on my productivity and my creativity—both of which are being squelched by the current state of my office. I called my husband for one final objective (or maybe not so objective) opinion on what I should do. He asked a very important question that almost made me smack my forehead as if I could have had a V8. “Do you have electronic copies of your work saved?” Of course I do … they are all saved on storage discs I created when I changed laptops. ”Then dump the paper!” I took a deep cleansing breath and dove in.
It was amazing looking at my life’s work—from where it started to where it ended. I reminisced over projects. I laughed at how primitive my methods were in the early days. I marveled in how I was able to go out on a high note, still occasionally receiving a call—“Are you sure you don’t want to take on just one more project?” One by one I kissed them goodbye and it felt good to see them go with grace and dignity. I realized that I was not only purging files and clutter, I was purging my heart and soul—letting go of the old to make room for the new. I could feel the restoration to normal emerging with every bag of trash removed!
I looked around and saw that I had only made a small dent in the chaos and I probably had another couple of days’ worth of work to do. Ordinarily, I would have been discouraged to continue but I now had the clarity and presence of mind to get it done. I have faith that my office will be restored to its Mission Organization glory. Wish me luck!