I am really a very organized person. I know where to find what I need. I could say, “A place for everything, and everything in its place,” only that is not quite exactly true.

While I am organized and I know where everything is, I can become someone who is consumed by stacks of this and that. Yes, I know what is in the stacks, but all those stacks are robbing energy from me.

When the space is clearer, so is my mind. When my mind is clear, I will work better.

I know this to be true. I also know that once I start working in a clear, clean, clutter-free environment, new opportunities show up for creativity and for business.

Why would I — or you — not want this to happen?

I’ve been thinking a lot about intention lately. 

With our stay-at-home order still in effect in Maryland, I have had a lot of time for reflection. Reflection about what is important in my life, what I want to do in my business, how I want to spend my days.

For years, I had a note on my bathroom mirror. It reminded me every day to think about what my intention was. 

What is your intention/choice for today?

Are you feeling less in control these days?

Who isn’t?

Like many of you, we are under a “stay-at-home” order. Even if you are not under an order, you are likely practicing “social distancing.”

Along with being “stuck at home” comes feelings of not being in control. It is acutely aware to all of us.

The truth is that we have very little control over things all the time. We just don’t dwell on it on a regular basis. Our brain is focused elsewhere the majority of the time. Right now, our brains tend to go to the lack of control.

And we worry about this lack of control. And we can get carried away with this.

What can you do?

By some accounts, Blue Monday was this week.

What is Blue Monday, you ask?

It goes back to a campaign created by Dr. Cliff Arnall and Sky Travel in 2005, and it’s the third Monday in January.

It is a pseudo-scientific calculation that considers weather conditions, debt level (the difference between debt accumulated and our ability to pay), time since Christmas, time since failing your New Year’s resolutions, low motivational levels, and feeling of a need to take action.

The idea is that all of that is enough to put you in a “blue” mood. Of course, the solution for your low feelings would be to book travel! Since then a campaign was started called #stopbluemonday.

I think Blue Monday is when you look ahead and see all you have set to accomplish this year and start to feel overwhelmed when you have barely gotten started.

Many people choose a “word” as a focus tool for the year. I have been doing this since probably 2005 when Kathy, the owner of the yoga studio where I practiced, passed around a basket with words.

I chose “openness.” At the time I asked if I could pick a different word. After all, the woman next to me chose love, which seemed like a much better word. I remember Kathy telling me that I was stuck with openness because the word had chosen me.

I went home, taped the word onto my computer, and let it be an anchor as I went through the year. Looking back, I know that this made a tremendous difference in my year.

It’s the last week of June. We are about midway through the year.

Have you taken time to review where you are with accomplishing your goals at this half-way point?

Now is the perfect time to look back at what you have accomplished so far this year and adjust your goals for the year.

Why now? Other than it is half-way through the year, we are about to celebrate Independence Day, July 4, here in the United States. It is a day meant for celebration — picnics, fireworks and gratitude.

I like celebrating where I started and where I am. I like celebrating that I am able to work both independently as an entrepreneur and interdependently with so many wonderful people. I’m sure you have some of those same celebrations.How do you do this review?

Do you ever get that sinking feeling when you look around and start to compare yourself to others — their art or their business success?

You start to think that no one will every want what you have.

And, then you start to believe the one or two people who have ever commented negatively on your work.

And, then the spiral starts. Really, who are you to do this anyway?

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Guest post by Gwen Fox, www. gwenfox.com.

There were lots of giggles and hugs as the women said their good-byes. They had come from all over the U.S. and Canada to take this workshop in Taos, New Mexico.

Now it was time to clean the facility and Helen graciously said she would help. We swept, mopped and laughed as we relived all the class personalities.

When we finished I asked Helen if she would like to go for a margarita at Doc Martins, located in the historic Taos Inn. Doc Martins is famous for the number of celebrities that come to have a quiet drink without all the fan fare of being a star.

We chose our seats in an area so we could talk. Helen had come a long distance and was new to the art world. I liked Helen as she was curious, eager to learn, intelligent and she had inner strength.

As we sipped our margaritas we started talking about art, painting and the struggles it brought. Helen’s eyes lowered and she looked into her margarita for several minutes. I had seen this scene many times. I knew what was coming as I had lived what she was about to say.

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How often do you reward yourself for your work?

If you are like many creative entrepreneurs I know, it’s not very often. Sure you accomplish the items on your to-do list, you make progress towards your goals, and you may feel proud about what you are doing. Then, it’s on to the next thing on the list, the next goal.

Many of my clients take part in what I call a Success and Strategies Summit on a weekly basis. For years, I had been taking time to look at what I accomplished and plan ahead on a weekly basis. It made a difference in how much I was accomplishing and the confidence level I had.

When I started working with private clients and ICAP members, I shared this more formal practice with them. They began to see how important this review was in their own lives and businesses.

A big part of this Summit is celebrating your successes. Did I mention how often we are on to the next thing and don’t do this?

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My first yoga studio, Follow Your Heart Yoga in Germantown, Md., had a decorative tile hanging by the door. It said, “Just Be!” I first saw it nearly 15 years ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. What does it mean to “just be?”

On one level it means to be present in the moment, without distraction, still. And, that is probably what we are supposed to consider when we see the tile and begin our practice in the studio.

But who is it that you want to be?

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