Acquire Better Skills, Not Just Gear

One idea on how to slow down your consumption and increase your doing

My On Cloud X3 trainers are celebrating two years of frequent, almost daily use, completely worn out and ready to be retired. Photo: Per Håkansson.

Apologies for being a few days late on this week’s post, I’ve had a stubborn, hard cold. Probably because I’ve been pushing myself too hard physically and was due for an extra rest. The body knows and will let us know in due time, no need for guesswork.

Like success, thriving will teach us nothing. If you want to live an interesting life, which I prefer over the commercialization of happiness, the gold lies in the art of survival, in how to learn to grow when the times are tough and hard.

Yet, the message that is communicated everywhere, from billboards to social media, is that ease, comfort, convenience, thriving, and happiness is what we should seek and value over anything else. Because that’s where the big bucks lie.

But I’ve found, that the more I streamline my life, subtract and reduce everything down to its essence, and focus my time and attention on the act of doing, the better I feel about myself and the better I become at doing and living.

The first time camper stocks up on everything the outdoor store recommends, from sleeping bags, sleeping pads to big tents, large camp kitchens, coolers, hiking boots, and mosquito repellent that could fill a whole truck.

The lack of knowledge and uncertainty drives the first time camper to cross the t’s and dot the i’s ad infinitum. Fear is driving the decision making, the fear of not having enough, to not cover every possible and imaginable outcome.

The experienced camper knows better and only brings the fewer better things: a beaten up and repaired sleeping bag, a small storm kitchen, a seasoned knife and a pair of comfortable trainers. Knowledge and experience simplifies.