Sometimes I wonder if I have a constant need for validation. I've felt it in my intimate relationships and in my work. Being an actress for as long as I have has forced me to learn that feeling validated by a booking or a compliment on a performance is almost worse than getting a bad review. But that want for validation is still there - as much as I know that feeling only comes from my ego. My sense of truth comes from inside of me. Right? So, in the end, this want is not a need for validation as much as appreciation. Appreciation is wonderful! BUT, what I long for, as an organizer, is feeling ACCOMPLISHED. And that, my friends, is a beautiful thing.
My most recent client and I have been periodically to clear his “ paper clutter”. He and his wife bought a beautiful house in a beautiful location. They have undergone many renovations to make the house a home. Tonight I thought about the work we’ve done thus far. The amount of work we’ve/he’s (he deserves a ton of credit) accomplished is beyond the typical clutter clearing. I remind myself when I come home from a session with him that BAGS of paper work have been shredded, filed, or recycled. Because, like my clients, I need to feel a sense of accomplishment. Although I cannot photograph the “Before and After” of this progress, I know that checks he never cashed are being reissued, old tax issues are being solved, unnecessary business cards are being thrown away or put into his phone, and keepsake cards, writings, tickets, and photos are being put in their right places. Instead of the initial gratification of “before and after” photos, I bask in the knowledge that the work we’ve done has earned him “lost” money…cash found in random places and un-cashed checks he lost in the shuffle. When all is said and done he will have made money working with me. ; ) Also he, now, knows what to do with junk mail, and how to file his paperwork.
We have to sort our feelings the same way we sort our clutter. Is it our ego talking? It it our desire do help? Is it our desire to know that the work we've just done is quality and worthwhile? I'm going with the last two. I've accomplished a blog! I'm validated by my accomplishment.