The Age of Information
Knowledge is cheap these days. Literally and figuratively.
What used to cost money to obtain (encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books, space for all that knowledge) now costs nothing but time.
I heard Rachel Hollis once say and I paraphrase,
“every answer you are looking for can be found on the internet for free.”
Only costs time to hunt it down and absorb.
I’ll add to that notion that every answer you are looking for can be found in your hand; that little device that is a computer.
If we live in the age of information, then why are we still spinning out in life? Maybe not all of life, but career, health, finances, simplification, to name a few.
Don Miguel Ruiz explains it this way in his book, The Four Agreements,
“Information or an idea is merely the seed in your mind. What will really make the difference is action. Taking the action over and over again strengthens your will, nurtures the seed, and establishes a solid foundation for the new habit to grow.”
When it comes to organizing there is plenty of inner shaming that happens; “you should be able to do this!” being the most venomous and the most common.
The inner judge tells you that there is an abundance of information out there for you to learn HOW TO organize. It’s no different than shaming oneself over the journey to health.
In both scenarios, I counter that isn’t the HOW that we lack, but the action. And in some cases, the right action.
There is plenty of information to be found on organizing.
Most “HOW” knowledge strives to hand out the easy pill: organize your pantry in three easy steps, lose 10 lbs with one change in diet. Looks easy enough so we swallow the pill and feel good.
But only briefly. Eventually the pill wears off and so does the result.
It was a temporary high that made us feel better.
The process to simplifying is very straightforward; not to say it is easy but the steps to achieve it are not complicated. And there we find the truth and the root.
Simplifying takes time. Rewriting the story that your stuff is telling and recreating your life is not something that happens in four days time. More than likely it will take months if not a year, and even then it requires the expense of energy to keep it up.