In my earlier days and most recently up to last week I was terrified of ironing clothes. The mere fact that I would need to assemble the iron board, take out the iron and meticulously remove wrinkles in my clothes discouraged me. To this day, I would rely exclusively on shower steam to ensure my clothes are wrinkle free.
The shower steam trick is particularly useful for those who travel a lot like me. Simply hang your shirts outside the shower and take a hot one. Within 15 minutes or thereabouts the steam would miraculously remove most wrinkles.
What I didn’t realize was that ironing clothes would provide me with several ways to improve myself:
Patience – It’s never a clever idea to iron a garment in a hurry, most of us have experienced the dreaded burnt mark. Like life, we must exercise patience in a world where instant gratification is now the norm. Patience allows us to achieve our goals and enjoy better mental health.
Detail & Focus – While carefully maneuvering around collars, sleeves, and seams one must pay attention to detail and have focus. Ironing helps you focus by removing distractions in your life such as social media, information overload, and your mobile phone.
Reflection – We live in a world of information overload. Some argue that having access to information is no longer the challenge, but asking the right question is. The constant distractions of online shopping, social media and searching the web fight for our attention. With these distractions, we find ourselves not having sufficient time to think and reflect.
You may be asking how does ironing clothes help me reflect? To put it simply, ironing gives you the ability to take time out of your busy day to slow down and think about recent events and consider your thoughts and feelings. Reflection has several benefits that include being able to learn from your mistakes, rejuvenating your energy levels and it ultimately gives you perceptive.
For me, I may have a new-found love for ironing while at the same time I am continuing to be amazed at how powerful your mindset is.
P.S Don’t forget to turn off the iron.