How to Spring Clean Your Mind

Ahhh … Spring. It’s finally here, that time of year Mother Nature shows off with her new life, warm weather, gorgeous flora and all its splendor. A time of renewal and …  a time for Spring Cleaning: when we clear our homes of the old stuff that clutters our space.

But, what about our minds? When was the last time you cleared your mind of negative old thinking?

Just like how cleaning our physical space makes us feel better, clearing our minds is just as, if not more, powerful to feel better and to bring positive changes into our lives.

We all have negative thoughts that enter our minds from time to time. They were probably established in childhood or as a result of negative events from the past. It’s a natural phenomena, perhaps a self-defense mechanism, that subconsciously becomes part of us. But, the problem is if we allow our minds to continue to replay these old stories, we stay stuck in a self-defeating loop.

Once we replace our negative thoughts with positive ones, we change our perspective, and we change our lives.

So, how can we do this?

Meditate.

Oh, no, no, no, don’t get discouraged. Meditation is not just for incense burning, pachultii loving hippies (although I do love hippies). By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about the benefits of mindfulness. Everyone, from professional athletes to Fortune 500 CEOs are meditating.

Meditation may not be the easiest habit to form, especially in todays rushed, instant gratification, type A society. But, I promise you, meditating (even a little) can change your perspective.

Meditation helps us become more aware. This not only opens our minds to new opportunities, it helps us become conscious of our negative thinking. We can stop and say to ourselves, “Wait, this is a negative thought, it is not based on reality.” We then can force our attention elsewhere and sooner or later that old negative thought will not enter our minds anymore.

I started meditating last year and I have seen dramatic improvements in my life. Everything from better sleep and lower anxiety to having more meaningful relationships with family and friends, and accomplishing goals I once thought were way out of reach.

And if I can do it, so can you.

I meditate daily for twenty minutes in the morning and fifteen minutes at night. But, when I first started, I meditated for 3 minutes a day. Three minutes! You can do three minutes. I started with this brief meditation video.

After a while, I added a few minutes to my time by finding longer guided mediations on YouTube. There are plenty out there, all you have to do is look for some that suit you. I now use mediation apps like Ananda Conscious Health on my iPhone. It’s really easy to do.

So, go ahead, give it a try. Stick with it, and you won’t regret it!

What about you? Do you have any tips on how to clear our minds of self defeating thoughts? I’d love to hear from you!

Here are more resources to help you start meditating:

How You Can Eliminate Negative Thoughts With Meditation

3 Centering Meditations You Can Do in 5 Minutes or Less

3 Common Fears of New Meditators