Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, is well-known for helping people decide what to let go of in their homes by using joy as a guiding metric.

I've found this approach valuable in other areas of my life as well.

I’ve adapted one of her techniques to help me when people, situations, activities, or even books and classes start to clutter my mind with frustration.

I ask myself, “Does it/they/this bring me joy?” If the answer is yes, I keep it.

If the answer is no, but I still feel inclined to hold on, I then ask, “Has it/they/this served its purpose?” If it has, then I know it’s time to let go.

If it hasn’t, I’ll keep it for now.

The key to making this work is being brutally honest when answering these questions.

Thankfully, my inner critic never lets me get away with lying to myself, so I can rely on that voice to keep me accountable.