I’ve reached an age that my adolescent self thought of as pretty old: 34. I remember as a pre-teen thinking that celebrities in their 30s were washed up. Why is she still making music (or movies, or whatever)? Doesn’t she know she’s not cool anymore? Ah, youth.
I’ve written a lot of posts about steps I’ve taken to improve my day-to-day life and overall wellness, like reading books, meditating, language-learning, and exercising. I’ve even described myself as a bit of a self-improvement junkie. I am constantly consuming media about the latest health-related studies and how to become more efficient and effective in my professional and personal life.
I believe this continual learning and experimenting adds value to my life, but it’s easy to let these habit-related, day-to-day pursuits distract me from long-term planning. Setting big goals and grand-scale intentions is something that I haven’t done very often in my life, though I know it’s important. I’m talking about envisioning my life decades from now and asking myself what I want it to look like. What contributions will I have made to the world? What kind of lifestyle will I be living? If I could call myself an expert at something, what would it be? Read more
“Close some doors today. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they lead you nowhere.”
—Paulo Coelho
Despite paring down my possessions once or twice a year for at least the past eight years, including through six moves, I still often look around my house and feel like it is just too cluttered. Too many knick-knacks means more to dust, too many surfaces to collect things means more time tidying when preparing for company, and all of this adds up to unnecessary stress. I sometimes look at the white, bright, semi-sparse home decor photos trending on Pinterest or in magazine articles and think about how relaxing it would be to live in a more simply furnished, emptier space.
I’ve written before about my struggles with decluttering and owning too much stuff, and guest poster Courtney has shared her journey toward living with less, along with some great tips and inspiration. The mood to declutter tends to strike me around January, both because of the symbolic fresh start of the new year and because I spend more time at home in the winter months. So when I was invited to join a decluttering Facebook group and shortly thereafter heard of a 30-day decluttering challenge originally proposed by the Minimalists, I was motivated to once again assess my belongings and get rid of what wasn’t serving me.
”Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It’s your masterpiece after all.”
—Nathan W. Morris
