Here's a fabulous little tidbit from the Brat Factory, which is run by Pam Young, the lady in the decluttering video we watched.

My approach to our little brats is very simplistic. All I want us to do is become aware of our under-the- radar-of-our-conscious-mind thinking so we can behave in ways that create well-being. I decided to "play" with the concept in a light-hearted way and so I named that self-indulgent, self-defeating "voice" within me, Nelly.

I believe we were meant to glorify God within us. We are all children of God and as His children we have been given the blessed gift of choice. We get to be a mess if we want to. We get to be fat if we want to, spend more than we make if we want to OR we can "get a hold of ourselves" (that immature, self-indulgent, often hurt little part of us) and in kindness and love (two more gifts we've been given by God) shed light on our brats and remind ourselves what we REALLY want.

Remember, discipline is remembering what you REALLY want. I know you all want to thrive. I know you want clean, cozy, happy homes. I know you want free time to be creative, to read and learn and to play. It all starts within you. It's within you that you get God's strength. It's within you that you receive His love. It's within you that you decide to be organized.

Being alert and aware to the self- defeating voice takes practice and practicing that won't be admitting you have a split personality. (People with split personalities aren't aware they have turned into another person.) All we are doing with our brats is becoming aware of thoughts that won't create well-being.

My guess is your brat thinks stuff like: 'I'll put that away later. It's not fair I have to do that. I want to play on the computer now. I don't have to do that 'cause I'm big now and I can do what I want.' When we grow up we are suppose to give up our childish ways, but we don't always do that. We are such a self-indulgent society and it does not serve us well. My goal is to be mature but still have child-like qualities, not childish ways.

Childlike qualities to me are faith, optimism, curiosity, enthusiasm, joy, staying teachable, etc. Childish ways to me are selfishness, rebellion, tantrums, over-indulgence, slovenly ways etc. There is no danger in recognizing self-defeating and self-indulgent behavior and doing something about it. Quite the opposite is true. We have been given the ability to self-destruct. It's all up to us.

Flylady says there is no Magic Pill, but I think there is! Our brats are little pills sometimes and they are magic. Over the years we have ignored our inner brats and they have been able to function under-the-radar of our consciousness and stay alive all these years. They crave our attention and if we will be kind, compassionate and loving with ourselves we will be amazed at what these little pills will do!

Please visit our website at www.thebratfactor.com.