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"The Prison of Nostalgia"
🕑 Added 2021-04-15 12:05:00 +0000 UTCPatreon Exclusive. Joshua and Ryan discuss recognizing and overcoming our emotional attachments to our possessions, and they answer the following questions:
What is “sentimentality”? (15:19)
Why is nostalgia dangerous? (17:13)
What are some creative ways to repurpose sentimental items for daily use rather than having them simply collect dust on a shelf? (22:40)
What should I do if photographs simply don’t replace having the actual items for me? (25:42)
What is the difference between a collection and a curation? (28:45)
What should we do with awards since they have little to no value beyond the recipient, and if you donate them, they’ll likely end up in a landfill? (44:25)
What is your take on memory boxes that parents make for children? (50:49)
Challenging the idea of “our memories are not in our things”—what if you don’t have a good memory? (57:43)
What should I do with sentimental items that other people can’t really use, like my personalized high school drill team letter jacket? (1:03:55)
Why didn’t it make me feel good when I let go of my most recent house and two dumpsters of my possessions? (1:06:19)
LINKS
Article: The Problem with Always Wanting More
Book: Everything That Remains
Book: Love People, Use Things
Book: Minimalist Rulebook
Class: How to Write Better
Essay: Nostalgia Is Dangerous
Instagram: Jordan Moore
Instagram: Podcast Shawn
Instagram: Jess Williams
Listen: “You Don’t Let This Go”
Podcast: Sentimental Stuff
Resources: The Minimalists
Subscribe: The Minimalists
Text: 937-202-4654
Tour: The Minimalists
Watch: Less Is Now
Watch: Minimalism
Website: Becoming Minimalist
Website: John Pawson
YouTube: Joshua Becker
MAXIMS
“Contentment is uncovered by subtraction.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“Happiness is buried beneath our stuff.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“It’s easier to find contentment with nothing than with everything.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“We can’t swipe and spend our way to tranquility.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“The trophy does not make the champion.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“There are no shoulds—only coulds.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“Our memories are not in our things; our memories are inside us.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“Letting go is part of the grieving process.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“Letting go is not something you do; letting go is something you stop doing.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“If we let go too soon, we fall; if we hold on to long, we stall.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“Letting go is an act of self-compassion.” —Ryan Nicodemus
“Sometimes letting go of shoulds is more freeing than letting go of stuff.” —Ryan Nicodemus
“The journey does not continue if we cling to the past.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“Wisdom begets minimalism; minimalism does not beget wisdom.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“Others’ attachments are not your attachments.” —Ryan Nicodemus
“Possessions have no intrinsic meaning—only the meaning we assign to them.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“We can’t get people to understand things they don’t want to understand.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“When we tell people ‘no,’ we must also tell them what we’re saying ‘yes’ to.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
“If we hold on for too long, we get dragged.” —Joshua Fields Millburn
This Maximal episode corresponds with Minimal episode 283.
Comments
Alex Coronado
I over-thought if I it's appropriate to share my thoughts insights on the episode or not, and oh well, I don't know if someone'll read it but here it is: Thank you for creating this episode. I look forward on hearing from the tour stops! I didn’t know it’s illegal for companies to “stop growing”. I can see that in my current corporate job in a big electrical company. Since I work with people from all types of backgrounds and nationalities, I remind myself I can’t change the people around me. Currently, my experience is “over-working” while I find enough, although that sounds more of an excuse. From my perspective, I’m not pursuing “more”. I understand this job is temporary and it’s likely to change to less working hours, until then, I am content with my present. I sometimes see the past with rose-colored glasses, however there's nothing more beautiful than the present moment. I thought of that yesterday while I was leaving the gym. I worked most of my day for a paycheck and was very happy, not because of the paycheck. I am happy because I eat healthy, sleep around 8hrs and live an intentional life as much as possible
April
This episode hit hard. It moved me to action. I realized the truth that until I stop carrying around actual physical mementos of my past - I will never be able to move forward.
