4 Sanity Dimensions – Where Do You Fail?

One of the beauties of having teen boys is the fact that they LOVE to expose me to funny, absurd and teenager-ish stuff…  The most prevalent pasttime most recently is their addiction to FAIL Blogs.

Being the savvy mom that I am, of course, I was unaware of what a Fail Blog was.  So my sage and wise sons sat me in front of their computer for an hour clicking through endless tragically funny conundrums, somehow caught on tape.  Fail Blogs are a kind of modern-day reality voyeuristic entertainment venue, with a mix of good ol’ Three-Stooges slap-stick thrown in…  and because the scenes are caught on video or as digital pics, they are so difficult to ignore that most fail blogs are viral.

What about this type of entertainment is so engaging?  It seems to be the same fascination with why you have to stop and look at the accident on the side of the road.  Why do people “rubber-neck” and slow traffic to a halt? When I looked the rubbernecking phenomenon up, I found a lot of cyber comments that indicated exasperation and anger at the effects it has on traffic flow and on commuting time. Most comments gave reasons such as people’s “ignorance” or “curiosity”.  But I think the fascination with failure and focusing on accidents is driven by something far more basic and Darwinian… Survival.

I think that humans slow down to look at an accident because we are alive, and want to stay that way.  We are engaged, almost addicted to watch other’s failures because in some strange way it makes us happy that it’s not us!

So, I began thinking… it is very interesting that disorganization shows up this way for my clients. When most people see a disorderly, disorganized space, they think: FAIL.

That is why my first step to getting cleared from clutter in my ASPIRE™ process begins with “A”cknowledge and “A”ccept what is so.  There is absolutely NO movement forward that is essential without being exactly where you are, and recognizing the important next steps to get you through.  If you’re in the bottom of a pit, taking out your knitting, reading a book, or picking your nose for that matter, may pass the time, but when you stop and look up… you’re still at the bottom of a pit.  The only way to get out – is to acknowledge that is where you are, and accept it to be so. By doing so – you can then begin to strategize how to get out!

You’ve seen it on my site, and heard me talk about it in all of my courses… there are FOUR key Dimensions to investigate that underly every organizing and productivity problem I’ve encountered:  Your Space, your Systems, your Self and the layers of Support you have that make you successful… or NOT.

In order to deal with your disorganization, you have to first acknowledge and accept what is currently there.

Where do you fail? Take my quizzes to get a free “sanity check” on your Organizing Dimensions of Space, Systems, Self and Support.  Each quiz has 10 questions and free feedback about how you are doing within these dimensions.

And, When you’re ready to do something about it:

• Download my self-paced Dimensions Workbook for a step-by-step guide to getting through your clutter.
• Download  Time To Toss It! for guidelines on how long to keep items and papers.
• Need to get your home and family organized? Download “Get Organized to Keep Your Family Sane” E-book and Audio Course
• Contact me to schedule a free phone consultation! cena@sanespaces.com.