Atom Smasher
Master Don Juan
The practical solution is at the end of this study. I'll first try to put this struggle into perspective before giving you the solution that freed me from disorganization.
For most of my long life I have been utterly incapable of keeping my place neat and in order. I have always seen it as an utter impossibility. This applied not only to the neatness of my apartment and car, but also to paperwork, taxes, and things like that.
I have been diagnosed with ADD, but so what? My therapist would always tell me to not be hard on myself as I have a real case of ADD, but that always rubbed me the wrong way because although it is much more difficult for me to be organized, it is still my responsibility to work toward getting this handled.
And so, lesson 1 is this:
Take responsibility for your weaknesses, even though there exist real, valid reasons why you grew up this way. You are still responsible for battling your weaknesses and conquering them.
For those of us who simply can't get ourselves organized, what is the real reason that we believe we can't? I mean, why do we perceive tidiness as impossible to attain? Because to us, it is overwhelming. These things are NOT overwhelming to a normal person, they are just a part of the responsibilities of life. But for the "neatness-challenged", it seems utterly impossible for us to get organized.
I have my own computer repair business, and being a wiz at computers comes completely natural to me. I go to people's houses who are perfectly organized and clean, and yet they are literally completely helpless with doing even the simplest things on their computers. They marvel at my perceived "super powers", and can't fathom how I do what I do. And yet, I look at their houses and see their paperwork and I marvel at how they are able to do the seemingly impossible, which is to live in and organized fashion.
Therefore, lesson 2 is:
Different people are overwhelmed by different things. Do not loathe yourself for being weak in any given area. Instead, resolve to do better in baby steps every day. This is all you can do, and it is enough.
I am convinced that a man's outer environment reflects the inner man. If a man's apartment or house is sloppy and dishevelled, then he is invariably sloppy and dishevelled on the inside, within himself. This is usually not his choosing. It doesn't matter what the reason is for this sloppy self-image. It is there, and it must be dealt with in order to become a real, self-actualized man, a man to be reckoned with.
If you wake up in the morning, and you see a sloppy environment, this will daily reinforce in your mind that you are sloppy on the inside. You can go to work for 8 hours and escape it, but when you get home you are hit right in the face with the reality that you are looking at a perfect reflection of what you are on the inside.
You intuit deep inside that if you could only fiind a way, a system to get your environment organized, you would gain the SELF-RESPECT that you know you lack and that you desperately want. But it is overwhelming to you. You have tried before, but couldn't sustain it. The good news is that there is a way to make this easily manageable and sustainable.
Therefore, lesson 3 is:
Recognize that this issue MUST be handled in order to garner self-respect. The trick is to find a method that bypasses the overwhelm and is sustainable.
The following post will tell you how I did it, and why my self-respect is growing by leaps and bounds. Believe me, you can do it, too.
For most of my long life I have been utterly incapable of keeping my place neat and in order. I have always seen it as an utter impossibility. This applied not only to the neatness of my apartment and car, but also to paperwork, taxes, and things like that.
I have been diagnosed with ADD, but so what? My therapist would always tell me to not be hard on myself as I have a real case of ADD, but that always rubbed me the wrong way because although it is much more difficult for me to be organized, it is still my responsibility to work toward getting this handled.
And so, lesson 1 is this:
Take responsibility for your weaknesses, even though there exist real, valid reasons why you grew up this way. You are still responsible for battling your weaknesses and conquering them.
For those of us who simply can't get ourselves organized, what is the real reason that we believe we can't? I mean, why do we perceive tidiness as impossible to attain? Because to us, it is overwhelming. These things are NOT overwhelming to a normal person, they are just a part of the responsibilities of life. But for the "neatness-challenged", it seems utterly impossible for us to get organized.
I have my own computer repair business, and being a wiz at computers comes completely natural to me. I go to people's houses who are perfectly organized and clean, and yet they are literally completely helpless with doing even the simplest things on their computers. They marvel at my perceived "super powers", and can't fathom how I do what I do. And yet, I look at their houses and see their paperwork and I marvel at how they are able to do the seemingly impossible, which is to live in and organized fashion.
Therefore, lesson 2 is:
Different people are overwhelmed by different things. Do not loathe yourself for being weak in any given area. Instead, resolve to do better in baby steps every day. This is all you can do, and it is enough.
I am convinced that a man's outer environment reflects the inner man. If a man's apartment or house is sloppy and dishevelled, then he is invariably sloppy and dishevelled on the inside, within himself. This is usually not his choosing. It doesn't matter what the reason is for this sloppy self-image. It is there, and it must be dealt with in order to become a real, self-actualized man, a man to be reckoned with.
If you wake up in the morning, and you see a sloppy environment, this will daily reinforce in your mind that you are sloppy on the inside. You can go to work for 8 hours and escape it, but when you get home you are hit right in the face with the reality that you are looking at a perfect reflection of what you are on the inside.
You intuit deep inside that if you could only fiind a way, a system to get your environment organized, you would gain the SELF-RESPECT that you know you lack and that you desperately want. But it is overwhelming to you. You have tried before, but couldn't sustain it. The good news is that there is a way to make this easily manageable and sustainable.
Therefore, lesson 3 is:
Recognize that this issue MUST be handled in order to garner self-respect. The trick is to find a method that bypasses the overwhelm and is sustainable.
The following post will tell you how I did it, and why my self-respect is growing by leaps and bounds. Believe me, you can do it, too.
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