Who doesn’t want more of something? It’s a constant mental state for most people. We’re always unsatisfied in some form or another. What’s at the root of this dissatisfaction?
Lack of clarity about what is truly important and meaningful. This truth will be unique for each of us.
There’s an interesting documentary on Netflix called Minimalism, A Documentary About the Important Things that addresses this question from the perspective of our possessions. There’s a movement afoot for owning less. The result of dumping much of what we own is the freedom and clarity of more space (physically as well as mentally). Without the distraction of clutter, we can notice (sometimes for the first time) what is meaningful for our lives.
Not everyone is prepared to whittle down their possessions (including their home) to a couple of satchels slung over each shoulder to roam the planet happy and homeless (really, one guy did this).
But we can whittle away the clutter of desires that fill our heads, many unconsciously planted there. Advertising, social media and the successes of friends or celebrities can make otherwise irrelevant desires seem glittery and enticing. Getting into the daily habit of consciously affirming what we want more of; of what is important to us as at a deep level – automatically discards what’s not.
There is great value to consistently checking in with ourselves to ask, ‘what is it we want more of in our lives, and why?’ I call this a MORE list. When we are clear about what’s driving us, we can celebrate and embrace our uniqueness. It’s also motivates us to take responsibility for creating the conditions needed to make these desires a reality. Usually, this means modifying existing habits that no longer serve us as well as creating new, more powerful ones.
Once we give it a try, its actually fun to purposefully direct our attention to where we want it to go. The difference is striking compared to how our minds normally bounce between distractions like a mental pinball machine (who remembers those?)
Did you know that a Harvard study concluded that the average adult’s mind wanders close to 50% of their waking time? Think of how life might be different if we could harness 10% more of our mind’s attention towards what we want more of? With such purposeful direction, how much less effort might actually be needed to make our desires a reality?
Writing down a daily list of what we want more of in our lives is a great way to work that attention muscle. It’s also good practice for making conscious choices. Ones that are genuine enough for us to agree to be held accountable for. More than a goals list, we can look at it as a road map towards becoming the kind of person we want to be – who will live the type of life we find exciting and worthwhile.
Things will happen along the way that sidetrack us. New insights will occur that give us clarity. All of this is great stuff! It offers the practice we need to stay flexible and open. Both are required to grow.
It’s useful to remember that at our core, our value is set. Our worthiness is not up for debate. However, what we choose to do with the time we are allotted on this planet is up for our own internal discussion.
This is what getting MORE is really all about. It’s about being honest with ourselves and then getting into action. And the best part of all? Once you begin the process, it feels really, really good.
What do you want MORE of in your life?
Jo-Aynne
More Mondays: Today’s 5 minute action item-Write down what you want more of in your life. This type of daily committed focus is incredibly powerful and life changing. (Check out the Ready page for more direction on how to write the MORE list)
New to this blog? Want to join community of people making changes in their lives? Check out the Welcome page for insights on having MORE of what is meaningful.
