From Consuming to Creating Happiness

Issue No. 35 : A new way of thinking about how we buy, own, and divest things

Fall surfing in Rincon, California. Photo: Per Hâkansson.

Since I’m a few issues behind the publishing schedule this year I’ll release two issues per week for the next few weeks so that we’ll reach 50 published issues in 2025 by Christmas.

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The hardest part about downsizing your life [in terms of clutter] is the process of divesting which can both be a very time-consuming and emotional experience. The more stuff you’ve accumulated over the years, the harder it gets.

There are many different ways of approaching this:

• Ripping the bandaid: Be ruthless and have a weekend garage sale, then donated the rest. Done.

• No more shopping: Stop consuming and using what you have until it’s completely worn out.

• Small steps: Work your way through your house and storage, picking one area to declutter at a time. This could be the kitchen, books, sports gear et cetera.

Since you’re probably not going to get more than ten cents on the dollar (I know it’s really depressing but an important learning for future consumption) you might decide for the fast track option: donate or freecycle everything.

I did a combination of the three and was helped by a divorce that really accelerated the process. The end goal is to deflate your bloated lifestyle and focus your time and resources on a few high-quality things that fuels your new life.

This whole process really helped me reprioritize my life and refocus it on what really matters from having tried to have it all and do it all. I also learned what skills I was lacking and what activities in life I love the most.

Restructuring worth millions

Since I studied business at university, I’d liken this process to the restructuring of a slow and unfocused enterprise that was losing money into a fast-moving, agile, and profitable modern venture. An expertise worth millions.

Downsizing, when it’s on your own terms, is really about upsizing your life and making more time, attention, and energy for what matters the most. Sometimes you don’t exactly know when you start but the process will lead the way.

I didn’t, I just trusted the process and let my curiosity take the lead.

We’re being marketed very attractive lifestyles, and they often are, if we just actually went from only buying to regular doing. But very often we buy things that ends up in the garage, the closet or some other storage area without being used.

The trick is, just like with a successfully run enterprise, to make a plan for how you want to spend future time and money. It’s about making a clear commitment to yourself about how you want to live while still being open to new opportunities.

From consuming to creating happiness

But it’s also a shift in mindset from consuming to creating happiness. It’s a shift from letting others provide this for you to creating it yourself by being curious and eager to learn new things in life. It’s also how you create real meaning.

For example: If you want to become a good chef, you need to practice cooking. It doesn’t matter how much kitchen gear you’ve. Some of the best meals I’ve ever made have been over a camp stove or when living in a college dorm.