It's time to purge.
The end of a year is a great metaphorical event to use to enhance a critical aspect of your constructive creativity -- get rid of everything that you can!
Your psyche has a certain quota of open loops and incompletions that it can tolerate, and it will unconsciously block the engagement with new material if it has reached its limit.
I challenge each of you reading this to test out the following hypotheses, and prove me wrong. And if you discover that any of these work, please post a comment with your experience.
Want more business? Get rid of all the old energy in the business you've done. Are there any open loops left with any of your clients? Any agreements or disagreements that have not been completed or resolved? Any agendas and communications that need to be expressed? Clean the slate.
Want more clothes? Go through your closets and storage areas. Box up, bag up, and cart off to the charity of your choice everything that you haven't worn in the last 24 months. And anything that doesn't feel or look just right when you wear it.
Want to be freer to go where you want to, when you want to, with new transportation? Clean out your glove compartment and the trunk of your car. And for heaven's sake, get those little things fixed that have been bugging you.
Do you want more wealth? Unhook from the investments and resources that have been nagging at you to change. And give more than you usually do - in cash, in kind, in service -- to someone or something that inspires you to do so.
Do you want to feel more useful? Hand off anything that you are under-utilizing to someone who can employ it better. Make sure you really let it go, with no strings attached.
Want some new visions for your life and work? Clean up and organize your boxes of old photographs. Do the same with the digital photos that have been accumulating on your computer.
Want to know what to do with your life when you grow up? Start by cleaning the center drawer of your desk, or the catch-all drawer in your kitchen. You won't know how good you'll feel until you do it.
I'm sure you get the idea by now. Whatever you want more of in your life, ask yourself if there is something you can get rid of to make room for more of what you want. Your constructive creativity is ready for a fulfilling new year. It just needs some room to work and play.
You will have to do all this anyway, sometime. Right now don't worry about the new. It's coming toward you at lightning speed, no matter what. Just get the decks clear so you're really ready to rock `n roll.
Return every Monday for more from David Allen.