How I Discovered a Life-Changing, Unexpected Key to Happiness

Nobody really believes possessions equal joy. In fact, if specifically asked, nobody in their right mind would ever say the secret to a joyful life is to own a lot of stuff. Deep down, we know it’s not true.

But advertisements from every television, radio, newspaper, magazine, billboard, and website scream to us on a daily basis that more is better. According to statistics, we see 5,000 ads every single day. And since the day we were born, their message has been consistent: “Own more stuff. Live a happier life.”

These messages impact our lives far more than we realize or would ever care to admit.

We’ve been told the same lie so many times we begin to believe it—even without noticing. Unintentionally, we begin to equate happiness with possessions.

As a result, we spend countless hours comparing our things to the person next to us. We measure our family’s success by the wealth of our belongings. We work long hours in jobs to earn enough money so we can spend our lives purchasing the biggest homes, the fanciest cars, the trendiest fashions, the hottest toys, and the coolest technologies.

Meanwhile, we all know it’s not true. We know full-well happiness cannot be bought at a department store.

But what if all these possessions are not just not adding to our happiness?

What if there are, in fact, far more damaging? What if they are actually distracting us from the very things that bring happiness? That would change everything.

It was a beautiful spring weekend in Vermont. The snow was melting, the trees were budding, and the ground was muddy (that’s how Vermont rolls in the spring).

My wife and I woke up early one Saturday to do what most typical American families do on the weekend: clean the house. I volunteered to clean the garage because I wanted to spend some time outside.

Also, I thought my 5-year old son might enjoy working alongside me.

I was wrong.

Less than 2 minutes in to our project, my boy found his baseball bat and baseball and asked if he could go play in the backyard. I was reluctant to agree—not because I wanted to teach him a lesson about working hard, but because I longed to spend time with him after being at work all week. Nevertheless, I agreed.

*photo credit: {cindy}, Creative Commons

The garage was a cluttered mess after the long winter. And the project took longer than I had anticipated (I’m sure you can relate). Nearly three hours later, I was still cleaning out and organizing the same garage.

My neighbor, who happened to be outside working on her home, noticed my growing frustration.

She attempted to lighten the mood with a simple, sarcastic remark, “Ahh, the joys of home ownership.”

I answered her by saying, “Well, you know what they say, ‘The more stuff you own, the more your stuff owns you’.” I think I had read that on a bumper sticker somewhere.

Her next sentence struck a chord with my mind, heart, and soul, and changed the course of my life forever.

She responded, “That’s why my daughter is a minimalist. She keeps telling me I don’t need all this stuff!”

The thought left me speechless. As if, for the first time, somebody had told me that I don’t have to own everything. I wasn’t sure exactly what the term minimalist meant, but at this moment, I didn’t need to.

I looked back at by garage and the pile of dirty, dusty possessions in my driveway. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my son playing alone in the backyard.

And a realization occurred to me.

All the things that I owned were not adding happiness, fulfillment, or meaning into my life. But even worse, they were distracting me from the very things that did! In this case, my 5-year old son—alone with a baseball in the backyard.

That afternoon, my wife and I began removing the unneeded possessions from our home and life. Eventually, we would remove 60-70% of our stuff keeping only the things that absolutely aligned with our most important values.

As a result of owning less, we discovered more time, money, energy, and freedom. We removed stress, worry, and countless distractions from our lives. We found greater opportunity to pursue our truest passions: faith, family, and friends. And we discovered countless other life-giving benefits.

By owning less stuff, we began experiencing a better way to live. And discovered an unexpected key to happiness. (tweet this)

How I Discovered a Life-Changing, Unexpected Key to Happiness is a post from: Storyline Blog