What is our relationship to stuff?
I’m not talking about our understandable desire for basic stuff like shelter, food, water, clothing, transportation, etc. I’m talking about all the stuff that comes after our basic needs are met. All the stuff that we often allow ourselves to define as needs but actually do not meet that criteria.
The following are several questions I ask myself that you may find interesting to answer.
Do I feel better about myself when I have more or fancier stuff than someone else?
Do I feel less than when I don’t have as much or not as impressive of stuff as someone else?
Does my stuff or lack of stuff drive who I think I am?
How much time and energy do I spend researching, working for, acquiring, posting about, organizing, cleaning, and getting rid of, stuff?
What percentage of my stuff has ever given me a true and lasting sense of fulfillment, contentment, meaning, purpose, love or peace?
Based on our answers to the above questions, we may wish to reconsider our relationship with stuff.
If we were able to spend less time, money and energy on stuff, what would we choose to do with that newly available time, money and energy that we feel would possibly result in more peace, joy and fulfillment in our lives?
The following links are a couple of resources I have found inspiring and that have sparked these questions in my life.
Graham Hill: Less stuff more happiness
Minimalism: A Documentary Film
LOVE, Wade.
6.22.18
Wade Robson, based on his personal experience of external wins and internal losses, explores our personal definitions of WINNING and their implications.