Great ways to detox your mind

Summer is the season of fresh starts and renewal. My mantra during summer is often “Out with the old and in with the new.” This notion is what leads many of us to tidy up and clean our homes during the transition from spring to summer. In a similar way, summer often sends us to clean up our health — making it a popular time to detox the body and lose weight.

The symbolism of rebirth and new life that is synonymous with the spring season can be applied to the mind. Spring can be the perfect time to detox your mind, reenergize your routine and mindset, and assess what in your life is working — and what isn’t. With a little guidance, you can make your routines more efficient and energizing, and let go of any habits, beliefs, or parts of your life that are no longer serving you — to make space for what is new and fresh.

Just like when you go on a detox diet to flush out the toxins from your body and cleanse your internal organs, it’s also helpful to flush out toxins from the mind. Mental and emotional toxins often go unnoticed, but they are just as essential to tidy up given the era of digital overload we live in and the busyness our lives can become. Mind clutter can lead to:

Lack of focus

Fatigue

Stress

Indecision

Overwhelm and over-commitment

Communication breakdowns

Mistakes and errors

Health issues

Unhappiness

To avoid these pitfalls, jump-start the process of uncluttering your mind—and reenergizing yourself this spring. Follow these steps to learn how to detox your mind.

Set an Intention

A helpful way to begin the detox process is to set an intention for the season, or next chapter of your life. This helps you step into a new dynamic in a conscious way, instead of leaving it up to chance. Take an inventory of all the ways you wish to grow in your life — dream big in terms of where you want to be. If you could identify a word of phrase that describes the overarching feeling of what you want to achieve, what would it be?

When you think of this intention, write it down in a place you see often so you can remind yourself of your highest intention for the season.