Declare Independence and Clean Up Your Life!

Life is messy. Sometimes it’s a small mess, and other times the messiness permeates every aspect of our lives. The bigger the mess, the more despair we experience.

“It’s obvious when our desks are messy,” said Dr. Beth Plachetka, LCSW, EdD and owner of Safe Harbor Counseling. “How do we know when our lives have gotten messy? Our thoughts, words, and actions let us know.”

According to Dr. Beth, when life is messy we avoid talking about anything important, including finances, relationships, ideas, and beliefs. “Our decisions follow the crowd; acting independently feels too stressful and we fear being attacked for our ideas,” she explained. “Our conversations focus on people. We judge ourselves by comparison to others, concluding that we’re wrong.”

Mess indicates that it’s time to pay attention. “When our desks are messy, we sort through papers, files, and crumbs to determine what is valuable,” added Dr. Beth. “We purge, prioritize and organize; then we can breathe and move forward. When life gets messy, it’s time to sort through values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Then purge, prioritize, and organize so we can move forward and breathe freely.”

Mess is evident at expected transition points: changing levels in school, changing family roles and work roles, even a transition in society. How do we clean up mess in our lives? Socrates said a life worth living requires examination.

“Check your values, the beliefs that you hold dear,” said Dr. Beth. “Values-based choices are those we make despite the consequences. Do your words, actions, choices and judgements reflect your values? Prioritize your values over acceptance, then align your actions, choices and judgments to your values.”

Having just celebrated Independence Day, consider that nothing is more un-American than despair. The United States is one of the few near-perfect places to live and grow. We have the freedom to think deeply, examine ourselves and our lives, and make changes.

For more information, please contact:

Beth Plachetka, LCSW, EdD

Safe Harbor Counseling and Dr. Beth Speaks

76 S. Main Street, Suite A

Sugar Grove, IL 60554

630-466-8657

safeharboril.com