Spring is the perfect time for renewal and revitalization. As we begin to shake off the cold dark winter months and open ourselves up to longer warmer days, we automatically feel a renewed sense of hope and optimism that we can bring into our everyday life. Here are some great ways to get started:

1. Do a deep spring cleaning. 
It’s no mistake that spring is the best time to get rid of all the dead weight that has accumulated over the winter months. Throw open the windows, let in the light, and clear out anything that is no longer serving you. 

Do a thorough decluttering as well as a thorough cleaning. Some great places to declutter include: 

• kitchen cabinets and junk drawers. If you haven't used it in the past year, get rid of it. Throw out anything that's expired or donate items that you can't see yourself using.
• medicine cabinets. Throw out any medicines and first aid products that have expired. Get rid of anything that's not essential and only taking up space.
• clothes closets. Spring is a great time to sort through your clothes, getting rid of anything that no longer fits, that's beyond mending, that doesn't look great on you, and that you haven't worn in the past six months. Donate anything that's wearable.
• linen closets. Linen closets tend to be a catch all and cleaning it out - getting rid of anything expired and/or non-essential - will give you more breathing room for the items you do use.
• file cabinets. Toss out any files and/or papers that you no longer need and/or use. Yes, keep those tax files for the allotted time you need but otherwise really question why you're keeping around three year old bank statements and outdated bills.

2. Clear out emotional and mental clutter.
Along with all the physical clutter and cleaning, spring is an excellent time to get rid of old habits, negative thoughts, limiting beliefs and old ideas. Sometimes it’s comforting to hang onto these old things but really they’re only keep us from moving forward. Think of yourself as a traveler. How much baggage do you want to continue lugging around? Make your load lighter by dumping all the things that are no longer helping you to move ahead. These things may include:

• old ideas about yourself. It really doesn't matter where these old ideas about yourself originated. If they're holding you back, they have to go. The easiest way to do this is to identify the old idea you have about yourself (like "I'm not good enough") and adopt a new idea to take its place (like "I am good enough and a very worthwhile person"). Whenever you feel yourself slipping into the old idea (and it will happen), remind yourself of your new idea and repeat it to yourself like a mantra. This takes diligence but it is possible to change your mind about yourself in this way.
• past regrets and resentments. What I'm taking about here is forgiveness - forgiveness for yourself (regrets) and others (resentments). You may think you're holding on to regret and resentment in order to protect yourself or even to hurt the other person, but all you're really doing is making yourself miserable and holding yourself back from joy and happiness. There are a lot of great resources available on how to let forgiveness work for you but the first thing you can do is set the intention to let go of all past regrets and resentments. Realize they're no longer serving you and need to go.
• negative thoughts. Negative thoughts happen to everybody. It's that tiny voice in our head that tells us "you can't do that," "you'll never amount to anything" and "who do you think you are?" The bad news is that negative thoughts will never go 100% away. The good news is that you have the power to control how you react (or don't react) to them. When a negative thought pops up, counter it with a positive thought. For example if the thought "you can never do that" pops in,  briefly acknowledge it then counteract it by stating (to yourself) that "yes, I can do this." What that negative thought is really trying to do is keep you safe. If you try something new or go out on a limb in any way, you might get hurt. This negative voice wants to keep you safe but at the same time it's keeping you small. Thank the voice for its concern but don't allow it to stand in your way.
• limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs are just that - beliefs that we hold about ourselves and/or the world that limit us. For example, if you believe that only college educated people can make six figures and you're not college educated, then you're dooming yourself to a life of earning under six figures. Your beliefs create your reality. That's it. The way to break through limiting beliefs is to replace the old belief with a new (more powerful) belief that you can really get behind. First, ask yourself if the old limiting belief is true. Using our example, is it true that only college educated people make six figures and over? Obviously not. There are loads of people making way over six figures without a college education. Why can't one of those people be you? From here, adopt a new belief. Using our example, your new belief might be that earning over six figures has more to do with persistence, creative ideas, and integrity than a college education. Whenever the old belief crops up (and it will), reinforce with your new belief immediately.

3. Start something new.

Believe it or not, mid-February is an ideal time for creativity and visioning. Not only is it the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, it is also exactly midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The stress and pressure of new year resolutions has faded and there's still a lot of year left to plan.

And this Chinese Lunar New Year is something really special. It's the year of the wood horse, heralding in on January 31 at 1:20 am CST. The year of the horse is  about stepping (galloping) out of the old - old relationships, clutter, regrets - and embracing the new. It's also an excellent time for new innovations, creativity, visioning for your future and indulging the unconventional.

The wood horse is said to be responsible and to never slack on his commitments, which will help you to move forward on your plans and visions with more ease. The year of the wood horse is also known for advancement and efficiency. It can help propel you into a prosperous future if you let it. The wood horse encourages you to reach for the sky, to be bold in your vision, and to really go for what you want.

As for the year 2014 itself, according to numerology it's a Universal 7 year (2+0+1+4). This year brings a deeper analysis of the past situations in order to improve upon them and build for a strong future. This is also an amazing year to visualize the future that you want, using the lessons of the past to help build the foundation for the future.

Ways to envision your future

1. Make the most out of this time by setting aside time to fully envision the life that you want, particularly how you want 2014 to unfold. Get as specific as you can, exploring all the areas of your life. You can sign up to receive my free life plan guide to help you get started.
   
2. Create a vision board for yourself and any area of your life you want to focus on more (like your relationship or your career). This will act as a constant reminder (if you hang it somewhere prominent) of how you want your life to be.
3. Release old beliefs and thoughts that are blocking you. When developing your vision, ask yourself what's holding you back from realizing what you want. More than likely, it's you - your thoughts, your beliefs, your habits.
4. Actively envision the future you want in your mind. Give it life. Take time to meditate on it, seeing it fully and in as much detail as you can, really feeling what it would be like to be living it.  This will not only help to attract it to you but it will also open doors to new ideas and thoughts about it. 

It's up to you to make 2014 a great year. The time is now. Get to it!

I’m not big on relaxing. I find it difficult. There’s always a small voice in the back of my head yelling at me to quit slacking and get to work whenever I try being lazy. Even on my days off. I find it challenging to not be productive, like I’m wasting time. But in reality, relaxing is never a waste of time.

Taking a break to relax, be still and calm down actually helps you to be more focused and get more done in your day. William Dement and Nathaniel Kleitman, sleep researchers in the 1950s, discovered that we're only able to stay efficiently alert for about 90 minutes at a time before fatigue sets in. However most people (myself included) override this natural decline by pumping ourselves up with caffeine, sugar and our own emergency energy reserves (adrenaline), to plow through. This is not good for us.

In an ideal world, we'd work in 90 minute intervals with breaks between sessions. The breaks help to renew our energy, increase our focus, and increase our sense of well being, making us not only more productive but happier. Breaks could include anything from sitting in silence for five minutes, taking a brisk walk outside, listening to relaxing music, reading an uplifting book or taking a nap. Anything that gives you and your mind a break.

Relaxing is a skill and takes practice. But the benefits are huge and well worth the effort. Start by scheduling a 5 to 10 minute break every 90 minutes. Set an alarm if you need to. At the very least get up and walk around, stretch your body, look at something different and take a few deep cleansing breaths.

Break the guilt stopping your flurry of tasks by focusing instead on the benefits relaxing and taking a break bring to you and your life. Try it for a week and see for yourself what difference it makes.

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Neil Gaiman discuss how doing what you love helps you be a true visionary. You can learn more about the Connecticut Forum here: www.ctforum.org.