Picking Up the Paperclip

The other day I was walking in my office, and I walked by a paperclip on the ground. As I walked by I felt the urge to bend down and pick it up, but I also felt the urge to just keep going because it was just a paperclip on the ground and I was in the middle of packing for a trip. Then I realized that it was just a part of the energy that was going occupy a part, of my mind. The paperclip, that is.

So I stopped and remembering the little things that matter, and I turned around and grabbed the paperclip. And all of a sudden, unbeknownst to me, a small weight felt like it lifted from my shoulders as I placed the paperclip back where it belonged. So I started noticing that, and I went through the rest of the day making sure I picked up the paperclips in my life, meaning make sure I did the little things. Those little things that you just kind of let go, that could be taking out the trash a little earlier than maybe you want to, filing paperwork, organizing your background, organizing your desk, cleaning your whiteboard. Whatever that may be for you, picking up the paperclips is just an analogy, just a symbol for those little things in our life that we put off because they’re easy to do but easy not to do.

Also maybe you might think, walking down the street, “Oh, that’s a piece of trash, that’s kind of annoying but somebody else will get it, you know. Somebody else will do it. I didn’t leave that trash; I don’t need to pick it up.” But I can almost guarantee, if you pick up a piece of trash or you pick up the paperclip in your office, or whatever may be around your home, you’ll feel a little less weight, a little weight come off your body, because it frees the energy. It frees the energy in your headspace as well. Because I believe somewhere, subconsciously, you’re actually storing the memory of actually forgetting to pick up the paperclip and leaving something, leaving something you know you should do. This is almost like chipping away at your self-discipline, right? So if we say we’re going to go out running in the morning and we don’t go running one morning, it becomes easier the second morning and the next morning, doesn’t it? It does, and this goes the same thing if we say, “You know what, one doughnut, one hamburger is not going to hurt,” and that one turns into two, three, four. And next thing you know it’s been six months, and you’re off your diet.

I think the paperclip is just a symbol and just a representation of all these little things that occur in our life. So today what I want you to do is look at the paperclips in your life, and especially what I want you to do is grab your journal and put your Five to Thrive down. This is going to be really important. In each of your Five to Thrive, identify the paperclips that you regularly encounter. Where are those paperclips in each of those categories? For me, it was in my office, and the little things that were left around. That’s a paper clip in my mind, because it’s occupying my mind space. I always used to say that I live in organized chaos, but the truth is that when I clean my office, and I detail, or maybe it’s just the house in general, and I detail it, I just feel better.

Why? Do I know where things are more? No, I just feel better because I think it cleans the actual space around me, the head space that is being occupied. So I want you to identify your Five, your Five to Thrive, and where are those paper clips? We all have them, where are they in your life? And then immediately I want you to take action right after you listen to this and have written down your Five to Thrive, and identified your paper clips. Take immediate action to at least one of one those, just one. Take immediate action in the moment. That’s it from me today. Remember, go over to authorofyourownstory.com, where you’ll get the latest tips, tricks, and techniques delivered right to your inbox each and every day. And go out and inspire someone by being the Author of Your Own Story.

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