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Wouldn't it be incredible if this was the attitude of your average American?

by state 12y ago

SiVal 12y ago
Why? What are the "incredible" benefits that you imagine? This is about taking things that once brought you enough "joy" that you bought them and moving them from closets to landfills, probably making room to buy some more joy. I'm not saying that tidying up is a bad idea--I think it's a good idea--but I'm not sure what imagined consequences have filled you with such rapture.
- state 12y ago
  If you are mindful of the things that you have, you tend to acquire less of them.
  - SiVal 12y ago
    Or more. After clearing out more space in your home, and thinking "mindfully" about what you like and don't like, you could just as easily become more interested in acquiring new things than if your home were already "full" and you weren't thinking about things. You could be right, and I'm somewhat curious to know, but I'm not aware of any evidence either way, and I'm skeptical that such certain claims may be based more on a fashionable type of utopian theory than on real-world evidence.
- coldtea 12y ago
  "probably making room to buy some more joy" -- that sounds like a stereotypical american interpretation of it. It might also be what the journalist had in mind, but not what the author of the methodology describes.
- valleyer 12y ago
  Well, I’m not that guy, and I’m not sure I share his opinion, either, but I can imagine a few of the benefits he’s thinking of: 1. People who have fewer things are not as likely to be consuming a lot of things, so they may create less waste, which preserves energy, reduces landfill use, etc. 2. This attitude may contribute to an overall less materialistic society, which could mean things like fewer ads / web tracking (because there’d be less incentive for the advertisers)
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
Tiktaalik 12y ago
As North America increasingly moves toward a more urban, condo lifestyle, I think this sort of attitude will become the norm. The alternative is simply impossible. There's not enough space.
driverdan 12y ago
I disagree. You shouldn't be tying your emotions to physical objects. That's the very pro-consumer approach that leads to us accumulating junk. You need to be far more practical about it, such as "If I haven't used something within X months I get rid of it" and "Before buying something wait a week and see if I still want it"

Wouldn't it be incredible if this was the attitude of your average American?

by state 12y ago

Wouldn't it be incredible if this was the attitude of your average American?

SiVal 12y ago

Why? What are the "incredible" benefits that you imagine? This is about taking things that once brought you enough "joy" that you bought them and moving them from closets to landfills, probably making room to buy some more joy. I'm not saying that tidying up is a bad idea--I think it's a good idea--but I'm not sure what imagined consequences have filled you with such rapture.

state 12y ago
If you are mindful of the things that you have, you tend to acquire less of them.
- SiVal 12y ago
  Or more. After clearing out more space in your home, and thinking "mindfully" about what you like and don't like, you could just as easily become more interested in acquiring new things than if your home were already "full" and you weren't thinking about things. You could be right, and I'm somewhat curious to know, but I'm not aware of any evidence either way, and I'm skeptical that such certain claims may be based more on a fashionable type of utopian theory than on real-world evidence.
coldtea 12y ago
"probably making room to buy some more joy" -- that sounds like a stereotypical american interpretation of it. It might also be what the journalist had in mind, but not what the author of the methodology describes.
valleyer 12y ago
Well, I’m not that guy, and I’m not sure I share his opinion, either, but I can imagine a few of the benefits he’s thinking of: 1. People who have fewer things are not as likely to be consuming a lot of things, so they may create less waste, which preserves energy, reduces landfill use, etc. 2. This attitude may contribute to an overall less materialistic society, which could mean things like fewer ads / web tracking (because there’d be less incentive for the advertisers)

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

Tiktaalik 12y ago

As North America increasingly moves toward a more urban, condo lifestyle, I think this sort of attitude will become the norm. The alternative is simply impossible. There's not enough space.

driverdan 12y ago

I disagree. You shouldn't be tying your emotions to physical objects. That's the very pro-consumer approach that leads to us accumulating junk. You need to be far more practical about it, such as "If I haven't used something within X months I get rid of it" and "Before buying something wait a week and see if I still want it"