Does It Bring You Joy?
Stand in front of your clothes closet. Take a piece of clothing in your hand and decide if the shirt or pants or jacket or dress still brings you the joy it did when you first fell in love with it. If it does, keep it. If it doesn’t, toss it or donate it. (Full disclosure: I’m a bit late to the party but I’ve just read “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing”). I like the notion author Marie Kondo puts forth, truly abbreviated here, that if an object does not bring you joy, it should be sent to the dump or donation pile. That’s one way to clean house and simplify.
After reading the book, I wondered if her proposition could be taken a step further to include people and places.
Of course breaking up with clothes and “stuff” is easier than ending a relationship. My circle of close friends is small but every one in it brings me great joy. This is true for the ones I see often and those I cross paths with sporadically, too. But when a person becomes a drag on your time and energy, it might be time to have the “it’s not you, it’s me” talk. This isn’t just for friends, but also lovers, your boss, your hairdresser, auto mechanic — you get it.
Sometimes moving from a place that no longer offers the same joy it once did is the right move. This includes the place where you work, the school you attend, the restaurant that once served the BEST lobster roll, but now, meh. Even the route you travel every day is subject to change.
No matter whether it’s a personal relationship, a place or a thing, if your hanging onto it no longer enhances your life or brings you joy, it deserves to be deleted from your life. Tough standard you say? Yes, I agree. But what sounds callus or brutal can be truly life-changing and freeing. After you rip off the Band-Aid you’ll find the time and space to invite in things, people and places that DO bring you joy.
BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!
Original graphic: Stephanie DelTorchio