I don't want to collect things, I want to collect experiences.
"Some stuff keeps you stuck in the past and I-might-need-it-some-day clutter keeps you from focusing on the present."
These two quotes really hit home with me. The one about representing what you once were is a sad one to grapple with. Certainly there are things like pants that don't fit, and skis you won't use, that letting go of indicates that you are getting older, or fatter, or whatever. I don't really have as much of a problem with those.
The things that I thought of that hit home when I read this were things I am fully capable of using, but just don't want to anymore. But I know that I used to enjoy them, and hope that I may one day enjoy them again, but in the meantime, they are just sitting there, nagging me. Keeping me out of the present. And how often do I sort them. Weeding them out, but ultimately, leaving them sitting there to sort out again in a few months or a few years.
Many of these things are tools for woodworking, or for home improvement. I'm an engineer, and I like to know how things work, and I like to know how to do things. This often manifests itself by me buying a tool, and taking on a project, and seeing it through to completion. This part is great! But really, once I've done it once, I don't feel the need to do it again. But the tools are still sitting there.
I actually feel pretty guilty about this. Like I am wasting them. But it's more about me wasting my time worrying about what I don't want to do! I think I'm ready to change my attitude towards this. I think it's ok that I want to try things, to do things. In fact, it's not ok, it's good! But I don't need to let that define who I am. I finished off the basement by hand, and loved doing it. But I did it once, and I don't really feel the need to do it again. And not to be all Stuart Smalley , but that's ok. I don't have to. I can do something else.
I guess one of the consequences of doing something once and moving on is that I don't get very good at it. But I think I'm ok with that that. In my head, when I decide I want to be good at something, it turns into wanting to master it, and/or be the best at it. But I'm never going to be the best at anything. I don't look at this as defeatist, but rather just realistic that there is always someone with more dedication, and single mindedness that will be better. I'd rather enjoy the breadth of experience, than get mired in the depth of a particular experience.
These two quotes really hit home with me. The one about representing what you once were is a sad one to grapple with. Certainly there are things like pants that don't fit, and skis you won't use, that letting go of indicates that you are getting older, or fatter, or whatever. I don't really have as much of a problem with those.
The things that I thought of that hit home when I read this were things I am fully capable of using, but just don't want to anymore. But I know that I used to enjoy them, and hope that I may one day enjoy them again, but in the meantime, they are just sitting there, nagging me. Keeping me out of the present. And how often do I sort them. Weeding them out, but ultimately, leaving them sitting there to sort out again in a few months or a few years.
Many of these things are tools for woodworking, or for home improvement. I'm an engineer, and I like to know how things work, and I like to know how to do things. This often manifests itself by me buying a tool, and taking on a project, and seeing it through to completion. This part is great! But really, once I've done it once, I don't feel the need to do it again. But the tools are still sitting there.
I actually feel pretty guilty about this. Like I am wasting them. But it's more about me wasting my time worrying about what I don't want to do! I think I'm ready to change my attitude towards this. I think it's ok that I want to try things, to do things. In fact, it's not ok, it's good! But I don't need to let that define who I am. I finished off the basement by hand, and loved doing it. But I did it once, and I don't really feel the need to do it again. And not to be all Stuart Smalley , but that's ok. I don't have to. I can do something else.
I guess one of the consequences of doing something once and moving on is that I don't get very good at it. But I think I'm ok with that that. In my head, when I decide I want to be good at something, it turns into wanting to master it, and/or be the best at it. But I'm never going to be the best at anything. I don't look at this as defeatist, but rather just realistic that there is always someone with more dedication, and single mindedness that will be better. I'd rather enjoy the breadth of experience, than get mired in the depth of a particular experience.
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