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Is owning less really worth it?
That's the question for today's conversation.
If you'd grant me a few minutes of your time, I'd like to challenge your thinking with a
quick story.
And the main character in this story is you, or me, or whatever persona you see when you
look into the mirror.
The plot is what happens, or what story you tell based on what you see in the mirror.
Now if I was telling you my story 5 or 6 years ago, I probably would lead with something
like this:
*Believe it or not.
I always felt like the odd ball.
The one that everyone knew but no one understood.
A black boy.*
And then I would proceed to outline every inch of my life that felt odd, or unsure;
cluttered.
*Who used poetry to cover his pain.
The rhythm of words to reflect the heart beat
he wish he had.
A black boy.*
But see, we're not living in the past.
5 or 6 years ago is what was.
Today is our opportunity to define today; tomorrow.
To highlight what will be, and to consciously choose to declutter everything that's... well
opposite of the person we want to be.
Now I could have answered today's question with a simple yes or no and called it quits.
But one that's not my style and two, I want to give you some food for thought to chew
on as you're staring at your reflection and telling your story.
Because in my opinion and from my experience owning less has totaling been worth it and
here's why.
But first I'd like to take a quick moment to debunk a pretty common minimalism myth
in case you're already thinking it.
Now yes, we're discussing the idea of owning less, but this is not a race to zero.
I'm not asking you to go without.
Instead, I'm asking to do the opposite in way.
Think about it like this: "minimalism is living with more of what matter by choosing to want
less of what doesn’t."
Alright, number one is Less Leads To Confidence
Now, confidence helps us navigate through the world more easily.
We make better decisions, we worry less, we compare ourselves less.
We also unlock a sense of mental freedom.
Which allows us to live with less stress.
All of these things, in some way, feed off of how confident we feel, or don't feel.
And whichever end of this scale you find yourself on, theirs always room to learn and let go.
I remember feeling like every action I took towards owning less, was going against what
was normal.
Like who does this, right?
Who lives without... fill in the blank?
But as ironic as it felt, I started to feel more confident, the more I let go and here's
how.
Number is I started to uncover who I truly was.
I've talk about this reality check experience before.
It's essentially unavoidable the moment you start to dig through and declutter your clutter.
And this reality check, uncovered a lot for me personally.
Number two is I was forced face and accept me for me.
This idea of self love right.
Because I started to really see myself without the clothes, the shoes, or the various personas
I've grown use to presenting.
It was just me and the mirror I was staring in to.
Now if you haven't already, I definitely want to challenge you to start letting go.
It may be scary, but it's totally worth it.
Number two is Less Builds Clarity.
Now there are two types of clarity that I want to highlight in this video.
There's clarity of the mind, in terms of core values and then there's also clarity in the
heart, in terms of gratitude and gratefulness.
Let's break it down.
Starting with Core Values.
Now if you've been apart of this community for while I'll spare you because I'm sure
you already know where this is headed.
However, if you're new here, first off welcome.
Now check this out:
"Your values help guide your behaviors and decision making.
They define the path you travel in life."
See when you start to declutter your life and move towards owning less.
You're going to face a reality check, as I mentioned earlier.
Apart of that reality check is building clarity around what you value in life.
Because your values dictate your behaviors and decisions.
Now if you need help identifying your core values, or if you're simply looking to reevaluate
what you already value, then you should definitely head over to my website at www.ronaldlbanks.com/values
and download my core values worksheet.
And while you're there you might as well check out my blog as well.
Now really quick this is something I've been working on in my free time, with the help
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Alright the second part in this clarity conversation is Gratitude.
See when we're use to having a lot of stuff, sometimes we don't fully appreciate what we
do have and we constantly find ourselves searching for and expecting more.
It's an ongoing cycle when we lose touch with what it means to be grateful.
Now this doesn't mean you can't have or want nice things.
I want you to have nice things.
I have nice things.
What it does encourage however, is action.
See "gratitude is choosing to make gratefulness an intrinsic part of your life every single
day."
Number three is Less Increases Productivity and Efficiency.
Think about everything you own and do as things you're managing and investing time into daily.
This idea alone should challenge your perspective around how much you own as well as how much
of your life your stuff is stealing from you.
If you're spending so much time in your day, managing unnecessary clutter and things, then
how much time do you realistically have to be productive at work, or to present with
family, or to simply enjoy life.
Remember owning less gives you an opportunity to live more and by changing your relationship
with stuff, you're then creating a new relationship with yourself.
So is owning less really worth it?
Comment below your answer, your reason or your question and let's talk about it together.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this video, and if you did give it a thumbs up for me.
If you're new here, again welcome I'm glad to have you here.
Consider hitting that subscribe button down below so you can join this community and grow
with all of us here.
Always remember to stay true to you and I'll see you in the next one.
Peace!