Yourself & Your Belongings Look after yourself first
Look after yourself then after your belongings There are various ways we could look at our surroundings and belongings. When it is time to move accommodation, you need boxes, loads of them and various sizes too. It is at that point, you realize how much clutter and unwanted/useless items you have bought and accumulated during the years. It can go from clothes, gadgets, books, cds and even crockery. Being materialistic and willing to have objects, just to look at can almost be an obsession. Some people need to buy to feel better. Apparently, the fact of buying or spending money when slightly depressed brings some boost to the spirit. Do we actually have to go and buy whatever we see to feel happier?! Are products bringing and giving this type of comfort? Others just prefer to stay home and eat junk food. Maybe not a good alternative after all! It is important to look after ourselves. A book by John Maeda titled “Laws of Simplicity”, shows a kind of study to make your life easier and more simple. Only 100 pages long with even interactive examples. People are too attached to their objects and products. There is this great chapter (Law 7 Emotion) where Maeda talks about the love people put into their iPods. Buying the product, then screen protector to avoid scratches, cases to customise them and even extra soft cloth to clean variable stains. There is almost this unusual emotion: he calls it Animism or also known as Shintoism (Japanese tradition and culture). “…Believing that all things around you—rocks, river, mountain, and clouds—are somehow “alive”…” Spending money to have a nice product is fine as long as there is enough money saved for the “rainy days”. Getting an affordable medical insurance can be seen by some as an assault course. Some prefer not to bother and just choose the easiest but maybe not the best way to live a daily life without any reserves. When an unfortunate situation occurs, it is a kind of general panic and funds aren’t here to cover such or such treatment or aftercare. Bupa recognise that everyone’s needs are different. And their policies are almost personalised according to the needs with a choice of consultants and hospitals too. Taking care of our electronic devices is good but there should be a limit. Investing cash in obsolete purchase is not the way forward. As an example, when receiving your monthly wage what will you do with it? Rent, bills, food? Surely these are the first things which come to mind. What about the leftover? Will it be saved, directed towards an insurance – or just spent on whatever you like, see and want?! It is not when an incident takes place that you need to run in all directions hoping that all will be sorted. It is up to each of us to organize and almost plan such eventual situation. We can’t see the future but we can ease some forthcoming procedures by allocating a monthly deposit – which isn’t that important – and not only the fear of the unexpected will go but all will be covered as well.
Sometimes it is worth to step back and observe how our lives are. Putting too much energy and money into pointless products will never give you a better lifestyle. It might be a temporary fix but after a couple of days you will be back to square one. Having some belongings is normal. Sometimes it is good too to get rid of some unwanted and unnecessary items. Charity shops are around the corner and they need us to survive. Good nutrition is essential for a balanced life. Buying cheap and tasteless food is not the way forward. Your body needs vitamins, proteins, salt and sugar but all in decent quantities. So going to your nearest fast-food or take-away to get a huge bucket of chicken wings and fries might look and smell appetizing, but it might be saturated with fat and salt. Something to add to the banned list!
Always remember to ask yourself the question: do I want or do I need this? Buying to want is generally not necessary!