layers

If looking at the surface of your mind does not give you the answer you are seeking about yourself, look deeper. If looking deep into your mind does not provide the answer, look on the surface.

analyze to impress

If it feels important to impress anyone, get specific about it. Who do you want to impress? When is it important to make an impression? What kind of impression do you want to make? What reaction are you hoping for? What are the various ways you might create that impression and get that reaction? Among the alternatives, which comes most easily and naturally to you?

heaps

The more you have to do, the harder it is to believe that you can complete it all.

number one

It is important to know yourself better than the people who are trying to get something from you know you.

sketches

Know what you own and why, and you know who you are.

balances

It is important to know how much money you have.

sovereign

You can’t ask for help in taking charge of your own life.

true core

Every time you let go of something that isn’t true to who you are, you strengthen your sense of self.

cutting edge

It is easier to cut with one sharp saw than with a ton of grit and determination.

levels

You are not your stuff. You are not your thoughts about your stuff either.

hold

Until you start measuring your financial strength, you will always be tempted to spend whatever money you happen to have.

breadcrumbs

The unused possessions you hold on to represent neglected aspirations. Look at your stuff and you see some of what you want to do and what you want to be.

what or where

When you don’t know what you own, you can’t write a list of the clutter you want to remove. You may still be able to plan and structure clutter clearing around the spaces you control.

revision

It is easier to change your mind if you know where your point of view came from.

orthodoxy

A different technique or strategy could work twice as well. This is why it is important to know the origin of the techniques you rely on.

catalog

If you’re going to own more than a few hundred distinct items in a category, you can’t know what you own unless you have a system for organizing, identifying, and cataloging the items.

your pillow

When the world gives you room to do anything you want, you may not immediately know what you want, but at least get plenty of sleep.

direction

Something you own works to your advantage or to your disadvantage depending on what you want to do.

black and white cupcakes

Don’t eat anything you wouldn’t want to write in your food journal.

self-critic

“If you criticize the life you exist in, you are criticizing the person who you once were, and that is not honoring your journey.” — Laura Ansell