If you’re at home right now, look around you. Can you pick five of your possessions that really, really make you happy? Things that fill you with glee every time you recall the fact that you own them? No? Me neither. (If you can, good for you! Feel free to keep purchasing stuff and feel your happiness grow.)
I believe that stuff is just, well, stuff. It shouldn’t be the most important thing in your life. If you’re working 40+ hours a week just so you can buy the latest iPhone/repaint your living room/upgrade your TV, maybe it’s time to ask yourself why.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my technology. My laptop (a HP Elitebook) enables me to make a living doing what I love. My iPhone is incredibly useful when I’m traveling, and apart from that, I think it’s a pretty beautiful piece of kit. But would I give up eight or more hours or more, stuck at a desk, five days a week, in exchange for it, or stuff like it? When there’s a big, beautiful world out there? Nope, not me (That’s why I quit my job. More info on how to do that later.)
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that you really don’t need all that stuff. It’s just stuff. It might be beautiful, or useful, or rekindle fond memories in your bosom etc etc.. but at the end of the day, it’s just stuff. You don’t need it to remember good times or to make you happy. I say, ditch everything that isn’t totally necessary and/or overwhelmingly sentimental. People are what really count – people and experiences. So get out there and meet people, and have experiences! You only get one life, and on your dying day are you going to regret not having the latest touchscreen tablet? I reckon you’ll regret the hours you spent doing something you didn’t enjoy in order to afford it.
So very true…