Confessions of a Clutterholic

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Toastmasters and guests, good evening.

I have a confession to make…I AM A CLUTTERHOLIC. No, not an alcoholic, nor a shopaholic, but a clutterholic.

o 6000+ emails in my Yahoo inbox
o 50+ Yahoogroup subscriptions
o 500+ messages in my Globe inbox

That is the count of my ELECTRONIC CLUTTER, as of Sunday.

o A cabinet filled with clothes more than half of which I haven’t worn for the last 3 years.
o Another cabinet filled with bags of different shapes and sizes for different occasions.
o A dresser table filled with contact lens and eyeglass cases with old prescriptions.
o A plastic container filled with fancy necklaces and bracelets that I don’t get to use that often.

Those are some of my PHYSICAL CLUTTER. Need I say more?

There’s this saying ”to save some for the rainy days”, I think I overdid it. I mentioned in my Icebreaker speech before that I was an “Experience Collector”, but I think my clutter became part of it. It wasn’t until I stopped working for almost a year that I really had the luxury of time to inspect the contents of my room.

So what is clutter exactly?

The word “clutter” originated from the Middle English word “clotter” (with an “o”) which means to coagulate or solidify (as in blood coagulation). Simply put, clutter is “stuck energy”.

CLUTTER ACCUMULATES when ENERGY STAGNATES and, likewise, ENERGY STAGNATES when CLUTTER ACCUMULATES. So the clutter begins as a SYMPTOM of what is happening with you in your life and then becomes PART OF THE PROBLEM itself because the more of it you have, the more STAGNANT ENERGY it attracts to itself.

Karen Kingston, author of the book “Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui” classifies clutter into four categories: (1) things you do not use or love, (2) things that are untidy or disorganized, (3) too many things in too small a space; and (4) anything unfinished.

Anything unfinished in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual realms clutters our psyche. Let me expound on the last type. I’ll need a volunteer to participate in this little exercise.

Hold on to this Styrofoam cup and this barbecue stick. Imagine this cup to be your life. I’ll give a series of statements for you to Agree or Disagree on. For every disagreement or “No” answer, you will make a hole at the bottom of the cup with the use of the stick.

Here goes:
o All my personal files, papers, and billing statements are neatly filed away.
o All my appliances and equipment at home are in good working condition.
o I drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
o My teeth and gums are healthy.
o My weight is within my ideal range.
o I pay my bills on time.
o I have told my parents, in the last 3 months, that I love them.
o There is no one whom I would dread or feel uncomfortable “bumping into”.
o I have fully forgiven those people who have hurt/damaged me, intentional or not.

Now, I want you to position the cup over your head and I’ll pour water over it. (I’ll make the motions of pouring the water from the pitcher onto the cup.) Nah…just kidding. But you get my point.

Each incomplete or unresolved matter represents an energy leak. Until these holes are fixed, one can never have enough water to keep the glass full.

So why do we have the need to keep clutter? Let us examine some of the reasons:

o 1st: “Just in case” mentality

The thought of not being able to throw something away because it is sure to come in useful someday indicates a LACK OF TRUST IN THE FUTURE. It is scarcity-thinking.

But hey, we create our own reality by the thoughts we have, so if we worry that we will need something after we have thrown it away, our subconscious mind will create a situation where we need that very thing. But if we decide to let things go, similar or better things will somehow turn up in your life at the right time.

o 2nd: Identity

Sometimes we get attached to our belongings because we somehow feel that our own identity is tied up in them. For instance, my filofax planner is an evidence of my active extracurricular life in college, thus, I would want to hold on to those memories for a long time. But later on, I realized that I don’t actually need an object to remind me of what I’m capable of doing because that capability is actually within me.

o 3rd: Scroogeness or “sulit” mentality

Sometimes we refuse to let go of our junk until we feel we have really got our money’s worth out of it. It feels indecent to let a thing go before every last drop of usefulness has been wrung out of it (motion: wring towel). Good things cannot easily come into our lives if we block the flow of energy by persistently clinging to outdated clutter.

o 4th: Perfectionism

Perfectionists procrastinate because they fear they are going to do something wrong or poorly, so they just don't do it at all. To overcome the perfectionism stumbling block, simply change your vocabulary. Instead of "perfection," strive for "EXCELLENCE!" There may not be a perfect place to store your photo albums. But I'm sure that there is an excellent place to put them.

Now that we understand the reasons for keeping clutter, we now have a choice whether to hold on or to let go. Me, I have decided to declutter in order to make space for new things to come into my life -- a rewarding job, a fulfilling relationship, and many more.

So far, I’ve made progress.
o I have deleted unimportant messages from my email and phone inboxes.
o I have streamlined my Yahoogroup memberships.
o I have thrown away most of my old planners.
o I have sold off some of my old romance novels through online ads and have donated some of my old clothes and bags to charity.
o And of course, I have also started to declutter my body with the proper choice of food.

I felt a lot lighter…liberated. It is just but appropriate. Incidentally, tomorrow marks the 10th year death anniversary of my dad and in a few days, I shall turn 30-something. I’m more than ready to move on.

Fellow Toastmasters and guests, what are you waiting for? Come join me in my space clearing adventure! Good evening!

(Taken from my Basic Speech Project #8)

Thriving in a fast-paced multinational environment

Today is Chinese New Year. And I chose this day to reflect on my learnings from a job that had drastically changed my outlook in my personal and professional life.

February 6 last year, I resigned from that financially rewarding, emotionally wrecking, experience enriching, mentally challenging job.

Reason provided on my resignation letter:
I am resigning to allow me more time and concentration to deal with my personal issues which are hampering my level of productivity and hindering my ability to express my full potential at work.

Actually the real reason is that I don't know how to deal with a boss (whom I highly respect) who had loss her trust in me. I was disillusioned by the events that transpired and so was she. I didn't expect myself to perform so poorly nor did she. I wasn't ready to embrace the fact that I was hired as an AVP so I didn't behave like one. Nor did I really put much attention to be like one.

Looking back on how I spent my 2008 after that incident, I actually spent a lot of time working on my self-development and self-expression. I congratulate myself for really taking time to address my issues.

My mechanism for self-development was staffing the Basic, becoming a Starshooters player / coachee, and eventually becoming a coach. Also, becoming a candidate towards becoming an ICF-accredited life coach.

My mechanism for self-expression was joining Toastmasters and becoming an officer.

My journey last year has been full of challenges and dramas but I survived and emerged being grateful and optimistic. And now I am more objective. Thus, I found the guts to review again the 13-page performance appraisal sheets which my former boss had diligently put together. Btw, I must say that I wince everytime I read the document.

As part of my closure for the painful emotional experience, I shall list down the values that I need to exhibit consistently in every job that I undertake to ensure my success.

• Independent
• Meet the alloted deadline
• Proper work distribution
• Not being casual in my tasks
• Multi-task
• Focus
• Adaptability to the work style
• Finish the basic before moving to the advanced; no short-cutting
• Create a laundry list of questions to be tackled at a scheduled time (as a way of managing the inboxes of the boss and teammates)
  
• Respect each other's time
  
• Lower down self-expectations on product knowledge but catch up on readings on my own time
• Be a self-starter
• Manage time
• Be responsible for my own health/physical condition
• Exercise common sense/judgement
• Exhibit security in fielding questions
• Seek guidance from those who have gone through the process to get started
  
• Facilitate trainings
• Submit excellent, not mediocre work to avoid rework
  
• Prioritize things based on deadlines given
• Consult boss when in doubt with official work instructions
• Clarify questions directly from the source to avoid miscommunication and duplication of work
• Learn and process immediately information obtained from immersion
• Initiative in owning the project
• Initiative in the process of documentation
• Initiative in learning more and taking on more work
  
• Provide feedback to boss regarding status of the documents and any support needed
• Be considerate of other people's time
• Deliver quality output on time
• Exhibit work ethics
• Give professional responses (keep side comment in check)
• Assertiveness
• Read documents before the meeting
• Importance of perception
  

Areas to improve on:

• Communication skills
• Adaptability and change
• Creativity and innovation
• Initiative
• Time management

So there.