More Things Lead to More Stress

Quote I Loved: 

"One can furnish a room very luxuriously by taking out furniture rather than putting it in." - Francis Jourdain 

Things I Am Thinking About:

As humans, our natural default is to add more and more into our life, but sometimes, less is more.

This past Saturday, I removed Huckleberry's extra dog bed from our guest room and it completely opened up the room. It was such a minor change, but it made a world of a difference in terms of not feeling as cluttered or stressed. This past weekend I said no to activities I typically would have said yes to and found I was in a better mood. By doing less, and having less, I felt calmer.

On Sunday, I started to put a plan together to get a canoe. First step, get a roof rack. Second step, find a canoe online. Third step, go out on the water with my friend, and resident canoe expert, Rory. I tried to distill it into the least amount of steps possible, yet, it was still exhausting. When I started looking for a rack, I needed to consider several factors like the weight load of the roof, the 3 different types of racks (gutter, mount, cage), and the hundreds of options for each different type of roof-rack. Then, when I looked for a canoe online, I was presented with another set of decisions. Used vs. new. White water vs. flat water. Single vs. tandem. The list went on and on...

I found it interesting that when I started adding things, even if they were exciting like the canoe or a full day weekend activity, I felt stressed. 

As humans, our natural default is to add. In the book Scarcity Brain by Michael Easter, he references study after study where humans decided to add to fix a problem (e.g., an uneven bridge, a full vacation agenda, matching colored dots) instead of subtract. The interesting part? Subtracting was always the right answer. In every case it was quicker, cheaper and the end result was either the same or better. Yet, people always added. We default to adding things, yet, that it isn't always the right solution, or what makes us happy. 

While I still might decide to add things (I ordered the canoe rack), I'm going to start being more intentional with what I add, and start asking the question, what can I subtract?

Question I'm Asking Myself:  

Where am I adding things when I should really subtract? 

Photo of the Week: 

Hucky has been trying out new looks and I am very fond of this one. What do you think?

Till next week, be kind, be curious and work hard. 

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