Stuff You Own, Stuff That Owns You

We'd like to think of all the material things in our lives—our physical possessions—as stuff we own.

But for some things, that may be backward.

Take your phone, for example. Are you really in charge? Do you own your phone, or does your phone own you?

Personally, sometimes I feel like my phone owns me. I do everything I can to make my smartphone dumb—disabling notifications, monitoring screen time, deleting timesucking apps and social media—and yet, over and over again, I find myself reaching for my phone completely subconsciously… as if my phone is controlling my behavior, not the other way around.

And what about cars? Houses? Investments? That [insert clothing item here] you haven’t worn in 12 years but can’t bring yourself to get rid of? Are you really in charge of any of that?

Remember—the point of all this stuff is to make our lives better. If it’s not doing that, it’s just taking up space (or time, or energy, or money). And if that’s all it’s doing, isn’t it time to get rid of it?

There’s a reason Marie Kondo has amassed such a huge following. You’re probably nodding your head knowingly as you read this. Of course, getting rid of things is easier said than done. How do you know what to toss and what to keep?

MY HUMBLE ADVICE IS SIMPLY TO ASK YOURSELF THIS ONE POWERFUL QUESTION: DO I OWN THIS THING, OR DOES IT OWN ME? AND IF THE ANSWER IS THE LATTER, THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING WORTH GETTING RID OF.

Or at least do whatever you can to set the record straight and remind your stuff (and yourself) who’s in charge.