The Eternal Argument

[This is a backdated post]

I got caught in a TEDX loop the other day.

You click on one talk, Youtube helpfully suggests a handful of other talks you may be interested in, you click on one or more of those, they each come with their own suggestions, and all of a sudden it's hours later, you have dozens of tabs open, and you're all full of enthusiasm and possibly some contradictory ideas.

The talk that tripped me up this time was The Ten-Item Wardrobe by Jennifer L Scott.

The reason it threw me out so much is that it restarted an argument my brain likes to have every now and then which boils down to:

'Having nice new things is lovely but this thing isn't broken yet and throwing it out would be wasteful.'

The start of the talk sort of lulled me into that 'holy shit, I'm going to change some habits' enthusiasm when she spoke about making sure that clothes fit you, are age appropriate, are in good nick, and suit your style.

I'm sure there are plenty of things in my wardrobe and drawers that could get donated or tossed because I don't wear them any more (or shouldn't wear them any more) and I have been slowly getting around to that in stages.

The bit that derailed the full steam ahead enthusiasm train was when she spoke about getting rid of her baggy sweatpants and t-shirt sleepwear combo and buying some nice pyjamas instead.

Because I am totally on board with the idea that the clothes you wear outside should be done away with when they get holes you can't mend or have become noticeably shabby, but when I'm sleeping... who cares?

The singlets or trackies that aren't nice enough to wear outside any more but are still doing OK make fine being unconscious accoutrement.

Having a nice pair of jim jams to wear when you go away on holidays or are staying at someone else's place isn't a bad idea, I have some floating around the place myself, but getting rid of stuff that could conceivably be serviceable for this purpose for years...

Jennifer said it was to do with treating yourself and feeling well put together at all times, even in private or when sleeping but... eh.

I think I'm going to end up with a compromise where I buy good quality stuff that'll last a decent while, get rid of stuff that doesn't cut it any more, and continue to enjoy my daggy at-home-wear because ditching it for nicer new threads won't make me feel elegant and confident, it'll make me feel wasteful.

Now I'm going to wander off and watch some more videos about minimalism, something that appeals to me intellectually and emotionally but which I will never be able to pursue because I like my stuff too much...

Speed Bumps

I haven't thought of it as a case of 'better the devil you know' because I've always understood that to be referring to being in a cruddy situation but being afraid that leaving it might land you in something worse.
Complacency may have the same effect though.
Things are OK so change isn't at the top of the list of things to do.

There's stuff I want to learn, goals I want to achieve, and whilst I've been moving towards them, I never feel that I've made as much progress as I'd like in the time since I set those goals.

For instance, I've been a bit bored at work for a while now but my searching for a new job has been sporadic because:

1. I'm not quite sure what I want to do next,
2. getting a new job will probably involve the added complication of moving because I don't live anywhere particularly central, and
3. even though I'm a bit bored, my life isn't bad.

I'm making enough money, my place is OK, I see a decent amount of my friends and family, I've been able to travel etc etc etc.

The thing is, even though I'm having a decent enough time, you've only got so many years in your life and I've been in my current job for five years. That's a few more years than you want to devote to 'things are going OK' unless you've achieved a few more things.

I want that 'what if I cock up!?' nervous excitement of starting a new job.
I want to meet new people.
I want to live in different places.
I want to try new things.

I can visualise all this happening easily enough but when I do it's always 'in the future' and after five years of the present, I'm having to put a boot up my own bum to remind myself that the future doesn't just happen by itself.

I'm not planning to quit my job and just run out into the world, hoping that something will fall into my lap but I am going to make more of a concentrated effort to start things moving.

I'll start with what I'm good at - making lists - and then move onto what I'm determined to be better at - making decisions.

I don't want another five years to pass and to still be sitting here going 'but things are OK'.

This Akimbo comic nails the feeling pretty well (click for bigness). 

Disclaimer: I know the argument in this comic really only applies to people who are lucky enough to have certain opportunities and circumstances and can't be smugly held up to people who are living in poverty and struggling to survive and feed their families.

Akimbo Comics