Adjusting that picture frame, pushing this chair in, aligning those slippers with each other, praising that perfectly symmetrical painting, unconsciously being drawn towards that triad-chord harmony. In general, we all have an inclination towards organised things.
My mum especially… When she’s telling me to clean my room. Maybe you can call it rebellious, maybe you can say I’m lazy, but really, I just don’t see it as messy as she does. I mean, if you ask me to find anything, I can do it perfectly fine. So there’s the first thing; everyone has a different perspective on what is considered organised, and thus, when something should be organised.
Don’t get me wrong though, I do have an inclination towards organisation, most apparent when it comes to my timetable. I have sheets upon sheets of physical paper to write down plans, files upon files of to-do lists, all to give me the best idea of what is to come.
In this case, organisation provides predictability for the future, granting a sense of comfort. I can envision how I need to act, what I need to prepare for, and not be caught by any surprises.
Thus, organisation also gives agency. I feel that I have full control over my time, knowing how long things will take and how much effort is needed to complete tasks.
In this sense, having a fence around me makes me feel safe. In turn, I have the confidence to take on larger challenges, as I know my limitations and just how much I can take on.
When everything is in order, challenges become a matter of when and not how.
Some readers (including me) may entertain the idea of being the boss of your work, and some of you may feel taken back by that thought; “I cannot manage all those tasks by myself!” In whichever group you may belong, we all crave to be organised in our work. Some of us just want to do it ourselves; some of us just rather someone else help us do it.
Back in my messy room, there comes one time when I do actually clean it; when guests are coming. I try to look my best also; comb my hair, wash my face, maybe switch out of my pyjamas…
So another thing about organisation is, perhaps we do it to look better for other people. It probably brings us some sense of satisfaction to at least look like we’ve got our lives all figured out and together.
This becomes a curious case where everyone is putting up an all-organised front, when deep down we all want to fall back into our messy bedroom. Although forcing ourselves to be organised might be superficial, it does make us do something, and take some sort of step forwards. The world wouldn’t spin if no one forced themselves to be organised and we all just gave in to our instinct of messiness.
But sometimes, we must allow ourselves to be messy… “Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end”, said motivational speaker Robin Sharma.
If we truly want to grow into the person we seek out to be, we need to be comfortable with breaking the order in our lives; we need to allow that around us to become unpredictable and chaotic first. This breaks us out of our old fences that were no longer keeping us safe, but instead were holding us back. It will feel unnatural and dangerous; perhaps we will want to return to the garden inside the gates which we know so well.
But just as sometimes we must force ourselves to be organised to accomplish certain tasks, we must also force ourselves to be messy sometimes to grow. The prior is strenuous, the latter is intimidating. Both builds character and construct new fences around our now-expanded garden. All until those fences are no longer sufficient to contain us anymore. Then it’s time to begin the cycle once again.
So the next time my mum tells me to clean my room… I’ll just tell her that I’m going through a period of growth.
