YOU might have the feather dusters ready, now that spring is just around the corner (hurrah!), but have you thought about giving your mind a bit of a clear-out too?
We're all guilty of wandering down the same trammelled negative paths in our heads – thinking you're not good enough for that promotion or boyfriend, for example, or staying stuck in a rut that you know is making you unhappy – but it might be easier than you think to turn those thoughts and habits into positive ones.
Here are nine ways to take a feather duster to your mind...
SORT IT OUT
A tidy living space equals a tidy mind. First World problem it may be, but I feel like a new woman now we've got a dishwasher and there are no longer dishes on every available kitchen surface – they're not weighing on my mind. The same is true for any living area – and your desk at work.
LIVE IN THE PRESENT
"If you are feeling anxiety, you are living in the future. If you are sad, you are living in the past," says life coach Carole Ann Rice (www.realcoachingco.com). "Keep your mind in the present, where all possibilities can occur. Recalibrate your thoughts."
FLIP YOUR SCRIPT
Rice suggests: "Write out all your negative thoughts and anxieties, but write it out with a positive spin on it. For example; 'Why is it me my boss gives all the tough jobs to?' You could rewrite it as: 'I am a safe pair of hands, people trust me to deliver and I always excel'."
WRITE ON
One of the best ways to see your problems for what they are – and address or let go of them – is to talk them through with someone else. But if they're not the kind of things you feel able to discuss, the next best thing is to get them down on paper and help them shrink a little in your mind.
BREATHE IT UP
Not just outside your front door, but that'll do if it's your only option. Get out into the country, head for the hills, take a trip to the seaside – and let the most natural thing on Earth blow away the cobwebs. Researchers at the University of Rochester in the US found that spending time in fresh air, surrounded by nature, increases energy in 90 per cent of people. And it's better for you than that chocolate bar...
FORGET 'FRENEMIES'
Remember the 'jellyfish' bit in Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason – where she gets stung by the negative friend? Yeah. Don't see those people.
CONQUER FEAR
Baz Luhrmann's Nineties hit song Sunscreen includes the line: 'Do one thing every day that scares you'. And Susan Jeffers' seminal Eighties self-help book was called Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway. Who wants to live their entire life being held back by fear?
START SOMETHING NEW
Not convinced by the colouring-in for grown-ups trend, but you always fancied getting into woodwork and making your own bench? Block out a weekend in your diary, book yourself on a course, or set aside some money to buy the kit, and let your creative juices flow.
CATCH UP WITH OLD FRIENDS
Over to Baz Luhrmann again: "Understand that friends come and go. But with a precious few, hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle. For the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young." Such wise words...
