Jonathots Daily Blog
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I recently moved, abandoning my old fortress of solitude for new digs, which I now comfortably call home.
In my whole life I have done this process twelve times. I was a little surprised to discover that this is statistically average.
Whenever I move, the first thing I do is go out and buy a box of garbage bags. Why? Because I’m going to give away a whole lot of stuff. These are the materials that crept into my life, were used temporarily, and ended up being stored in my closet or corners, where I intentionally forgot them.
It’s a very easy evaluation process. As I begin to pack things, I look at each item and ask myself the following three questions:
- Have I used this in the past three months?
- Will I use it a lot in the next three months?
- Is there someone who would really like to use it right now?
It makes things so easy. I not only end up moving but am able to bless a whole bunch of people who get the rejects I’ve been keeping around out of sentimentality mingled with laziness.
But you see, likewise, every once in a while, when something in my life needs to be moved, shifted or rearranged, I will dare to enter my closet of emotions and see what might be in there that is unnecessary.
There are three main culprits:
A. Worry
It gets shuffled to the rear and pretends it’s not there until you glance at it and then, the apprehension surfaces.
B. Pride
It always likes to be hung up high where it can be seen but does nothing to enhance my being except puff up my ego and is quickly deflated by reality.
C. And finally, self-pity
This one really likes to hide, like a cockroach surprised by turning on the light in the middle of the night. It likes to pretend it doesn’t exist, but self-pity literally “bugs me.”
When I look at these emotions—worry, pride and self-pity—I know deep in my heart that they’re worthless, but I keep them around for those times when others are not concerned, praising me—or they might even be ignoring me.
They suck. Yes, these fretting emotions literally suck the life out of me.
Because when I pose the three questions to them, which need to be asked of any emotion, they always fail. The three questions are:
- Is this emotion making me money?
- Is this emotion making me friends?
- Is this emotion making me smarter?
Honestly, I do not feel old, but I am too ancient to waste time worrying pridefully in a puddle of self-pity. I need things in my life that make me money, friends and turn me into a smarter being.
So will you join me in grabbing a sack, finding your worry, your pride and your self-pity, bagging it up and giving it away for Goodwill?
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