It is all too much

There’s a wonderful sketch from the great comedic genius George Carlin about ‘stuff’. The gist of it suggests that we accumulate so much stuff. As I prepare to move apartments over the next few weeks, I very much agree that I am a victim of this collection mentality. Probably the word ‘victim’ is the wrong word. I have chosen, mostly unconsciously, to accumulate a lot and I struggle to let go of it in case I need it for some reason.

This tendency I have is linked to a phenomenon in human psychology known as 'loss aversion'. We tend to resist losing what we already have and we overvalue its importance as a result.

What matters even more than all of the ‘physical stuff’ that we accumulate is all of the ‘mental stuff’ we try and hold in our minds. There is so much to keep track of in life from family, friends, finances, routines, chores, keeping ourselves healthy not to mention work. Nowadays, most people are connected to thousands of people via social networks and we have access to a ridiculous amount of information. News is non-stop and constantly attempts to grab our attention. Social media then doubles up on what we pay attention to and keeps us engaged for hours every week.

Put simply, we are continuously accumulating far too much information. As a result, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Our brains have not evolved to keep track of so many things. To make things worse, many of the things we keep track of, we have no control over. This leads to a feeling of powerlessness which adds to the stress.

So, what is the answer? Dealing with too much physical stuff is simple enough. Get rid of the stuff you don’t need and stop buying more stuff you don’t need. The operative word here is ‘need’.

Dealing with mental stuff requires something similar. We need to focus on what we need to pay attention to. This means deciding ahead of time what warrants our attention. It means keeping track of everything and organizing it in the form of priorities. It means choosing what kind of media and social media we are going to consume and for what reason. It means being purposeful in how we engage with the world.

Every physical object we have should have a purpose. Whether that is being aesthetically pleasing making us feel good or whether it is more functional. Everything we hold in our mind should have a purpose as well. Whether we hold it in our mind because it allows us just to relax and escape or empowers us to succeed.?

So, how can you be more purposeful in what mental stuff you focus on in your life?