Image via simpleeconomist.com
Maybe you’ve heard of or watched that show about hoarding. If not, you probably know what hoarding is: a compulsion to collect and store large amounts of stuff. In the show, we see inside the lives of hoarders, which usually includes tours of homes crammed from floor to ceiling with things people just can’t throw away.
Thinking about that show made me realize that we don’t just hoard physical stuff. We can also compulsively store things virtually, on our computers, online, and—most importantly—in our minds.
Ask yourself right now: are there things you’re squirreling away unnecessarily, due to some fear you’re harboring, or due to sheer procrastination? Is there something you want to do that you’re putting off, maybe for the wrong reasons?
For me, I think of all the emails I get every day about career and life advice I’d like to put into practice. I place a lot of those emails in various folders in my email account, neatly saving them for “later” (whenever that is) instead of taking the most important and reading them right away.
Really think about it right at this moment: are you hoarding your goals, hopes, and dreams? Are you standing in place, storing your aspirations for a “someday” that might never come?
When you feel the urge to put off a change you want to make in your life, make a conscious effort to overcome that habit. Instead of hoarding, take action.
So, that means I need to start reading those emails most relevant to what I want to accomplish right away, and write down the most important take-aways as I read them. This helps me think about what is most important when it comes to my ongoing education, so I can advance toward my goals.
You’ve probably heard about the book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. According to the author, the most common end-of-life regret is “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” We all-too-often compromise when it comes to our dreams. Too many of us reach the end of our lives with things left unfulfilled.
I believe that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to store things. But we also need to be explorers. I also believe that we are all introverts and extroverts to some degree, and these tendencies ebb and flow constantly throughout our lives in a natural cycle.
There are times when we’re focused inward, and at those moments in life we should definitely work on ourselves, gathering our strength and absorbing wisdom. But those times of storage should be balanced with outward exploration, when we show the world what we’ve learned and created.
Don’t keep all that good stuff inside you locked away! Others can and will benefit from what you have to contribute!
Have you ever hoarded your skills, talents, wisdom, or dreams? What have you done to overcome that urge? If you can relate to this post in any way, please leave a comment below and share your experiences!
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About the Author
Anthony Simeone is a writer, speaker, personal development activist, and social change warrior with over two decades of experience studying the practical application of literature, philosophy, psychology, and other disciplines. The culmination of his work is the Live the Hero concept, which he offers as a “life path” for use in overcoming daily obstacles. Live the Hero combines the wisdom found in the arts and humanities with the latest discoveries related to modern neuroscience. You can contact Anthony and learn more about his work at livethehero.com.
Great post, Anthony. I have many things I’m hoarding in my head. Time to clean out what I can.
Excellent post and so timely, my wife and I have been going through my deceased stepmother’s stuff and have discovered she was quite the hoarder. She was just so neat and organized about it, nobody noticed. We’ve found huge collections of buttons, envelopes, address stickers and free calendars from every charity imaginable for years, receipts for everything she’s bought for years, organized folders of details regarding every house she’s lived in going back to the late 80’s. Its been fun and interesting on one level but has also encouraged me to look at what I save and why.
I was listening to a recorded call about clutter earlier today that said clutter (physical or mental) is a symptom of something else. Some part of us doesn’t have a clear enough picture, thought or feeling of how you want life to be. If that picture was more empowering, it would help you easily and powerfully clear things. Without clarity on what we stand for, we create chaos and clutter.