Free Your Mind

Sweep away the negative and repetitive thoughts crowding your brain—so you can think more clearly.

- Jessica Migala

YOU’VE MARIE KONDO’D your closet, or at least thought about doing it—and you strive to keep the rest of your home nice and neat. But your mental space? Let’s just say it can get a little cluttered too. Everyday worries (Why hasn’t Alex called me back?) and subconscious preoccupations (I can’t believe I just ate another cookie) occasionally pile up and muddy your mindset. And more often than not, those chaotic, competing thoughts aren’t the productive kind; they just distract you from what’s going on in the moment and sap precious energy. The bottom line: “All that thinking can be exhausting,” says Sunitha Chandy, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in Chicago.

Luckily for the busy- brained, however, we can learn to tidy away mental clutter and make room for more important stuff. Step one, says Chandy, is identifying the thoughts that keep tripping you up.

You’re obsessing over a past slight

Maybe your mother-in-law outdid herself with her latest passive-aggressive display, or your friend said something rather judgy. Whatever it was that stung, it’s still making you wince weeks later.

The anger you’re carrying around may feel justified— but it’s dragging you down, says Lisa Marie Bobby, PhD, founder of Growing Self Counseling and Coaching. Every time you replay the offense or rehearse a comeback, you trigger a stress response in your body.

CLEAR THE CLUTTER

Expressing your hurt feelings could help you release a grudge and move on. But you know that. If you’re avoiding a confrontation, it may be because you don’t expect you’ll get the apology you deserve (especially from your MIL). There is another option: Draft a letter, and then throw it away, Bobby suggests.