Joy of Missing Out on Stuff
JOMOS a feeling of ease, peace, balance, joy and living comfortably with less stuff. No need or desire to constantly fill life’s voids with physical and mental stuff, rather finding joy in the simple way of doing things.
In our previous blog Fear of Missing out on STUFF we addressed the concept of FOMOS, Fear of missing out on stuff, it is described as a social anxiety, a fear of regret, which may lead to a compulsive concern that one might miss an opportunity for social interaction, a novel experience, or other satisfying events. Source: Wikipedia- Fear of missing out
As an Eco Organiser® we know people are becoming overwhelmed but stuff and increasingly aware of the psychological benefits of decluttering their homes in an ethical way, gaining peace of mind while avoiding landfill and preserving the environment.
How to transition from FOMOS to JOMOS?
Imagine life without the stress and anxiety of looking after rooms of stuff, the joy in being able to find your keys when you want them, never again do you stand in front of your wardrobe and say “ I have nothing to wear” yet there is plenty to wear. Your credit card is not itching to jump out and buy more stuff, instead your day is full of JOMOS.
Slow down and smell the roses.
Maybe not literally smelling the roses but picture the day you choose to step out of fast lane to slow down and reassess life’s purpose.
With schedules stretched every which way to achieve stuff and to do lists running into pages of stuff we must do, a JOMOS day allows time to rethink and observe what is truly important in life and community. And mindfully rekindling meaningful conversations rather than texting and emojis to express thoughts and feelings.
Going cold turkey on anything can be a struggle, by setting achievable goals and small reminders to slow down the task becomes a joy. Reward yourself with a gorgeous piece of seasonal fruit, or coffee by your favourite barista and savior the tastes, everything tastes better with a sprinkling of JOMO.
Ethically Declutter
At Eco Organiser® we define clutter and anything that does not add value to our life and stops us from living the life we want. Letting go of clutter creates time and space to do the things we really want. Learn how to ethically declutter
Ethical decluttering in itself is a mindful experience, letting go, yet at the same time discovering things you love to bring them out to enjoy, honour and respect before buying more stuff. Everything we buy comes with a carbon footprint, when treasures are discovered hidden in clutter, they not only add joy to our lives it helps to reduce consumption and carbon emissions.
Try focusing on things that add joy to your life, things you have always dreamed of but never had time or space, rethink quality not the quantity and experiences over stuff to maintain a clutter free life.
I’ll have what they’re having
It’s not a Harry met Sally moment, but there will always be people we admire and perhaps envy.
Envy can easily become resentment if we fail to recognize the opportunities available in our own lives to create experiences that are life-enhancing. Psychology Today
Going within and recognising the things that bring us joy, things lost among the debris and clutter of a busy lifestyle, reveals that we may already have what we need.
Add a JOMOS moment to your day, reflect on life experiences, accomplishments, adventures, connections and fun things that truly fulfilling your life’s purpose and dreams.
Know when good, is good enough
No one is perfect, no one has the perfect life or home. Does owning or working hard to own more stuff to create the “perfect” make us a happier, healthy person?
Which do you prefer, time spent working and finessing until it’s perfect or time spent enjoying the experience, great conversation, uplifting walk or life itself?
Rethink and decide what are your highest priorities are and focus on them, acknowledge what does not add real value and joy and let it go.
“Life is too short to be worrying about STUFF”
Don’t choke on your JOMOS
Having ethically decluttered your space, decluttering your time is the next step. Creating change takes a little time to become the “norm” to avoid the cold turkey shakes, brake down daily activities into bite size pieces.
Review your diary/planner/calendar and delete anything that is out of date, reminders, unsubscribe to newsletters that are no longer relevant. With the clutter gone and clear overview you can go about prioritising the important tasks.
Forget multitasking, since the 1990’s, psychologists have conducted experiments on the limits of multitasking, and the studies are conclusive: Subjects exhibited severe interference when asked to perform even very simple tasks simultaneously.
Mindful Consumption
Everything we buy comes with a carbon footprint of some sort- trees for paper- oil for plastics- coal to run our factories.
According to the Global Footprint Network, Earth Overshoot Day link to blog has moved up the calendar by two months over the past 20 years to 29 July in 2019, the earliest date ever. Source WWF Earth Overshoot Day.
Imagine if we stopped buying stuff that does not add value to our lives, business, social structure and invested in, quality over quantity, reusable over disposable, legislated for the Right to Repair and banned designed obsolescent?
It’s only STUFF
I have never heard of anyone lying on their deathbed saying
“I wish I got to the Ikea sales” they are more likely to say
“I wish I had more time with the people I love”
“I wish I made that trip”
Investing time and energy in relationships, and giving back or helps others brings a higher level of joy into our lives than STUFF.
Count our blessings
It was Gandhi that said “live simply, so others can simply live”
A state of JOMOS allows us space to count our blessings for the simple things in life.
Fresh air, clean drinking water, roof over our head, food to eat and the right to vote. So many people in the world don’t have the basics to survive. Forgoing the buy one get one free helps reduce our carbon footprint and helps others simply live.
Joyful Celebrations
Every day is a blessing and should be celebrated, not be taken for granted. Choose what brings you joy and jump in feet first!
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