Minimize to Maximize

Perhaps greater than the physical transformation you will undergo with minimizing is the mental transformation that must occur.  The physical environment will stay changed if and only if the faulty habits and outlooks that created the mess are dealt with and done away with completely.

As previously stated, if you declutter like the best of them but do not curtail your spending, your last state may be worse than the first.  It is imperative that you examine and redefine your philosophy, your habits, and your influences.

Examine your philosophy.  What do you believe about shopping and ownership?  Do you believe that you are what you own?  Do you believe in the power of “retail therapy?”

Examine your habits.  Where are you after work?  Is it the mall or the discount stores?  Where are you on the weekends?  Is it the outlet mall or making returns?

Examine your influences.  What do your friends and family tell you?  What are their shopping habits?  Who you hang around has a strong bearing on the course of action you take.

If you found some of the examination to reveal fault in your philosophy, habits, or influences, take heart!  You can change.  Changing yourself is not  always easy, but it can be done.

Redefine your philosophy.  Tell yourself, “I am adopting healthy shopping habits.”  Say to yourself, “I will get what will fill my need” and leave the adventure shopping to someone else.  Tell yourself the truth:  that sweater will not make you a more glamourous person.

Redefine your habits.  Want to shop?  Go for a walk instead.  Want to browse on the internet?  Go write about the urge in your sketch journal.  Make a list of substitute activities to do when you get the shopping itch.

Redefine your influences.  Find something else to do with your friends.  Tell your mom that you are going to sit out this shopping trip.  Turn off the TV.  Install an ad blocker on your browsers.

It is quick  to write, but it is much more slow to actualize.  But, oh!  When you actualize you are quick to see what was slow in coming was so worth the energy.  You see your wallet with more money, your calendar with more time, and your soul with more vision.  You then know that you have minimized to maximize.

For more on how to minimize to maximize, read the Manual from Simple Fly Life.  Available on Amazon!  Order your copy today!  

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