Owning less is not enough and here’s why.
Let’s say this glass is you and this water represents all of the clutter that is consuming
your life.
Maybe your bedroom closet is bursting at the seams with clothes you don't wear.
Or maybe your garage is piled high with excess stuff from over the years.
Maybe there’s a bit of emotional and mental clutter mixed in there as well.
Now let’s fast forward and assume that you’ve managed to declutter most of it’s not all
of the major clutter in your life.
Maybe you sold and donated a few things.
Maybe you did a bit of journaling to help you work through your emotions.
And now you officially own less—as represented by this empty glass.
Or an empty you.
But now what?
What’s comes next after you’ve managed to free yourself from all of this clutter
that has kept you buried alive, essentially.
Why is owning less not enough?
Because once you achieve less, you still have to fill your life with more.
But more of what?
And that my friend is the magic question.
Hobbies and interests.
It’s really easy to get lost in the act of decluttering and lose sight of other aspects
of life.
I’m sure as you were going through your decluttering process, and maybe you’re still
going through that process now—you put many of your hobbies and interest on hold.
Maybe you’ve told yourself if only I had more time or more space—more money even—then
I’ll be able to do the things I want to do.
Well, now that you own less, your time is no longer taken up with managing an excessive
amount of things.
Your space is not cluttered, and in theory, you should be more in control of your money
because you’re not paying for subscriptions and other things you don’t need.
Which means you can travel more or host a game night with family and friends—if that’s
your thing—without closing doors in an effort to hide your clutter.
Personal connections.
We all desire to be connected.
We want a sense of belonging to a like-minded group of people which adds value to our life.
This also extends to romantic relationships we develop as well.
See, lacking community and personal connections in your life can bring on loneliness and feelings
of void.
Which many of us try to fill with stuff we buy, but soon realized that it doesn’t really
work.
And since you own less now it’s even more important that you fill your life with community
and connections that bring lasting value.
Personal growth.
What are you doing that’s challenging you, and what are you learning that’s elevating
your life to a new level.
Are you reading books?
Are you taking classes?
Are you prioritizing your health and fitness?
Now keep in mind that personal growth isn’t always about what you’re doing more off.
Sometimes it’s about what you’re choosing not to do.
And to help you visualize what life after decluttering looks like, I thought I’d create
an illustration because being that I’m a visual learner myself I understand that sometimes
it’s easier to see something explained than hear it.
So at the center of this illustration is a circle and that circle represents the clutter-free
version of you.
Meaning you’ve developed clarity around your values.
You know strengths and weaknesses when it comes to consumption.
And you’re aware of what triggers you to partake in certain habits.
I call this "a deeper understanding of self."
Now surrounding this circle are many other smaller circles that represent your values
and interest.
And because you live a clutter-free life you now have the capacity to pull these things
into your inner circle.
To add these things to your life to replace the space that was once consumed with clutter.
Maybe that thing for is you learning a new skill so you sign up for a class or online
course.
Maybe it’s traveling more as I mentioned earlier, or putting yourself out there so
you can meet new people and create connections.
There’s also the health and mindset side of things—like yoga and journaling.
The possibilities are essentially endless because you know what you value and what you
have an interest in.
But you can only add those things to your life once you’ve made enough room for them.
And the only way to make room is to declutter.
So when your glass is full, don’t be afraid to let go.
Owning less on its own is not enough.
Your life is not meant to be an empty glass.
So it’s up to you to then fill your life with things that actually matter.
I hope this conversation resonated with you in some way and if you did comment below and
let me know which part spoke to you the loudest.
Keep growing, keep learning and always stay true to you.
I’ll see you in the next one.
Peace!