The picnic was great. Lots of fun, food and family hit the spot. But now you have to do some cleaning. Don’t you just love a clean house with everything in its place? Peace settles over you as you inhale the freshness of a fresh home.

Just as it took time to scrub the tub and take out the trash, your success as a writer requires the same attention. Just like you really don’t need to hang onto the phone bill from 1972, you really could clean out some things in your own emotions. Things you didn’t remember were there until you begin cleaning house. Here are just a few. When you find them, toss them!

Past rejections. Perhaps there was a time you could and should have worn those rejections as a red badge of courage, it’s time to get rid of them to make room for your future success.

Discouragement. Get this straight. As long as there is a breath of life in you, there is hope of you achieving your writing goals.

Past failures. Their memory simply must go. Never predict your future success based on your past failures.

Fear. If you feel the fear, it means you’re human. Feeling the fear and doing it anyway makes you courageous. Not to mention successful and fulfilled.

Negative reinforcement. Doesn’t matter who gives the negative, “you can’t possibly succeed” vibes. It’s not healthy for you and you need to take that out with the rest of the trash.

If any of these dream killers are tucked in the back of your emotional closets, you’ve got some house cleaning to do. You simply must take the time to dig them out, put them in the trash and toss it in the emotional dumpster.

You wouldn’t even think of not getting rid of the old furniture to make room for that beautiful new bedroom suit, right? Things would get pretty crowded if you did. So is it with your emotional discards. Take the time to clean them out. You don’t want to go into the last lap of the year with all that trash. Get rid of them.

Here’s to your house cleaning party!

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Reba J. Hoffman is a natural encourager and Member Care Coach at My Book Therapy. She holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Counseling and is the founder of Magellan Life Coaching (www.magellanlifecoaching.com). She is the author of Dare to Dream, a Writer’s Journal published by My Book Therapy. She also publishes a motivational and encouraging blog, FindingTrue North. Contact Reba at reba@magellanlifecoaching.com.