Collect Meaningful Experiences… Not Stuff
A young friend of mine recently posted a thought-provoking question on Facebook:
What advice would you give a 21-year-old?
Ironically, most of the advice came from other young people — advice about dating, school, career, exercise, saving money. Don’t get me wrong — all good advice.
But my mind went to one place and so I wrote:
Collect meaningful experiences… Not stuff.
This all came about when last year my wife wanted to paint a few rooms in our house.
Which led to changing the style of our home.
Which led to updating the kitchen.
And the carpet.
And the fireplace.
And all the lighting.
And three bathrooms.
A manageable project turned into a major renovation.
So we emptied the main level of our home to tackle the work.
When the work was finished, we started moving back the bare essentials bit by bit. Funny thing, we found that we liked how empty the rooms felt. They were decluttered. They felt crisp, clean, airy.
We made a major decision at that point: Let’s get rid of stuff.
We are now empty nesters. We no longer need a large house. And we don’t need all of the stuff we’ve collected over the years.
We adopted a new mindset:
Collect meaningful experiences… Not stuff.
Experiences with people we care about, doing activities that have significance to us, while exploring the people and cultures and flavors of this beautiful world.
So here we go.
The Stuff to Avoid
You’re probably familiar with this Art Buchwald quote:
“The best things in life aren’t things.”
If this is resonating with you, if you feel caught up in the trappings of consumerism and it’s a place you don’t want to be, then maybe you can learn from how we went about purging:
Stop the inflow! We stopped buying irrelevant things. And we tell friends and family that we don’t need more things as gifts — in fact, we are getting rid of things. If they insist on buying us a gift, we suggest experiences — restaurant gift cards, movie passes, theater tickets, attraction tickets, etc.
If we haven’t used the thing in the last year (or the last 5 years), then how badly do we need it? Time to let it go.
Does the item have real sentimental value or pseudo-sentimental value? To me, pseudo-sentimental value means it doesn’t tie us back to a person or event that has meaning in our lives.
Is it a duplicate? Or a triplicate? Or a quadruplicate? How many jackets do I really need? How many candle holders?
Some things will go to people who are getting started in life — like our children. We let them decide if they need/want it.
Some things will go to people in need — like the nonprofit who provides transitional housing for women and children escaping domestic violence.
Some things will just go.
We feel sooooo liberated.
I’m Taking My Own Advice — I’m Collecting a New Meaningful Experience
I’m going on an adventure.
I’m taking a sabbatical starting January 30.
I’m headed to South Korea to work as a volunteer at the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
I’m pretty sure that in the eyes of my kids that decision raised my coolness factor by several notches.
I feel more cool even.
But it was no easy decision. I’ll be stepping away from work — and income — for two months. That’s enough to strike fear into the heart of any working stiff. And my wife is unable to join me for the whole time.
Yet the adventure feels so exhilarating.
And from everything I read about peoples’ experiences taking sabbaticals, it seems that it’s a huge boost to their creativity, their perspective and their contribution to their organizations.
Kinda looking forward to that.
This is just one of many of our new adventures and experiences that we are pursuing.
Last year we took a trip to Beijing so we could walk the Great Wall.
My wife is learning Icelandic.
I took up kayaking.
I’m writing another manuscript and started a blog (you’re reading it now).
We plan to dedicate a couple of years of volunteer service abroad after we retire.
We’ve got a trip planned to Hong Kong.
And we’ve got our eye on a trip to the Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka to watch elephants in the wild.
We are looking to enrich our lives not through things — but through life itself.
How. Cool. Is. That?
If you want to LISTEN to this article, go to:
Sometimes You Need a Little Creativity Boost
My free eBook might just help:
5 Exercises that Will Make You 10 Times More Creative
I use these exercises to keep the juices flowing — in myself and in my clients. (I am a marketing consultant, after all.)
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