Mission 1: Pack Your Bags

Question: If you were in a state of continuous travel, what would you bring?

This question of what I would bring on a never-ending journey popped into my head recently as both of my roommates will no longer living in our condo as they both want to pursue travels and other experiences.

When you’re faced with moving, relocating, or even travelling, many of us feel a certain anxiety around our stuff. The stress of hauling it all over the place, finding out where everything goes, damaging it or wondering what to bring on a trip… if we’ve brought enough, or what if we’ve forgotten anything!? All these things can become overwhelming.

If you are one of those people with a particularly large amount of “stuff” this feeling can be intensified. In fact there are television shows that are based around the people that take this concept the furthest. They are called hoarders. There are many other names for hoarders too, such as: Collectors, Fanatics, Enthusiasts, Fanboys, etc. In many ways hoarding makes sense. You are creating a stockpile of something that you feel is valuable.

However a question we rarely ask ourselves is how and why is this valuable and to what degree?

People can also hoard or stockpile skills, hobbies, or memories. In fact human beings in general have this tendency to hang onto things. I am personally guilty of starting too many things without finishing them, or learning too many things without getting good at them – “jack of all trades, master of nothing.”

The interesting thing about this idea of hoarding is that it is not as valuable as people think, and it can actually be a very limiting and destructive force because there is really no end to it.

Someone could spend his or her whole life collecting “stuff”. Finding that right balance, especially in a consumer driven society, can be very difficult. The more we hang onto, the less free we are to move around. We develop attachments to our stuff, which makes it hard to get rid of or move on even when it makes sense to.

The stuff that we own ends up owning us.

This way of thinking also spreads us thin. All of the things we own and acquire all require our time and energy to function. Each skill, hobby, car, house, or pair of shoes will ultimately require some type of maintenance or else it will slowly degrade or be forgotten.

Even having so many things to do can ultimately end up in procrastination – having a full plate is the bane of a procrastinator.

So here’s a mission for you. Try it out and see what results you get. (Are you IN? If you are, comment below and say I’M IN to commit to the challenge.)

Mission: Pack Your Bags

Why:
To achieve the feeling and awareness of knowing exactly what you need and what to focus on.

How:
Imagine you’re about to travel forever. This means that everything you own you have to bring with you. This means that you still want to have a job, you want to have hobbies, passions and interests BUT you have to find a way make them mobile. What are the key things that make the most important areas of your life work? What is the purpose and function of each and everything “thing” in your life?

1. Start packing.
2. Start from zero.
3. Select a bag, piece of luggage, etc.
4. Start to fill it with the things that you absolutely NEED and cannot live without (Remember, what do you need to bring to work, or for your hobbies and interests?)
5. The things that aren’t serving your ultimate purpose, organize into 2 piles: Donate or Trash.

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. – Antoine de Saint-Exupe

The interesting thing that I experienced when I did this for myself was a strange feeling of being free. I was free from something that I didn’t even know limited me. Being able to physically see all the things that I actually need, and realizing that everything else I have are things I have acquired but don’t truly have any purpose or function, I got the feeling that I could go anywhere and I could already feel my focus increasing. I could feel more options open as I had more resources open up to me as well. Time, energy and even money was a mentality that shifted for me.

Regardless of if you’re going on a trip, this mission is a great way to see the things that are the most important to you. It also forces you to be creative in the items you are going to pack to still maintain all of the things you actually want.

If you want to hear what’s packed in my bags let me know! I’d love to hear what you’re going to bring on this never-ending journey called life in the comments below!

By the way… applications for our Mentorship Coaching program will be closing soon. There are a limited number of spots left, so if you want to accelerate your success in implementing the strategies of Social Dynamics to live a more badass life, apply today.