On Being Nervous

Inviting a professional organizer into your space can be an incredibly nerve-racking thing. I understand that. It makes sense. I'm probably a stranger to you - at least at the start! It's absolutely okay to be nervous.

Most are nervous because they are afraid they'll be judged. Others, perhaps, are wary that I'm going to run out the door, that the project is too big and all hope is lost! Well, I can tell you I've honestly never run out of a client's space. And, the only reason I care how your space got to look and feel the way it does, is so that I can help prevent it from happening again. Things happen. People get busy. There are other priorities. Life happens. I get it. That's why my job even exists.

These are all healthy, totally expected types of nervousness that I encounter.

Sometimes, there's the less-motivating type of nerves, too. Perhaps, you haven't begun your organizing project because you feel you can't complete it perfectly. If it can't be done just so, you start to feel anxiety over even attempting to start. I promise that taking a step in the "this project is closer to done than not done" direction is just that - closer to done than where ever you were before. You have that much less on your plate, and that's a good thing!

Other times, nerves show up in the form of fear of making a "bad" decision. I say "bad" because it probably really isn't a bad decision. Recently, while helping purge some papers from many, old boxes, a client confessed that she had been paralyzed from progressing in her project because she was afraid of throwing out the wrong papers. I asked her, "What's the worst thing that will happen if you get rid of a receipt or statement that you need again down the road?" She answered she would have to call the bank to get another copy. If that's the worst thing that can happen, then we're not doing so bad. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly some things that need to be held on to. But again, that's why my job exists: to get you to where you want to be.

It's okay to be nervous. Just don't let it stop you from creating the space you want to live in.

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