Options over Possessions

Today’s question presumes that the reader/writer thinks that options are better than possesion.

QUESTION:
How is having experiences better than having possessions? (From the Indie Travel Challenge)

I do prefer options over possessions. I’m unsure if everyone else in the world, or at least the people that read/participate will think so. 🙂

The discussion on the Indie Travel Manifesto page has a few thoughts on why?

Here are a few pieces about this exact topic:

The Freedom of Travel vs the Paralysis of Stuff
Collect experiences, not things
Thoughts on minimalism

As for me, “stuff” weighs be down, both in a physical and emotional sense. You’ve probably heard this before, but the idea that the more keys one has on their key ring is a sign of how tied down one is to “stuff”

One of the biggest possessions that it appears Americans and many other countries “love” – is Love of home ownership. And in many cases, multiple homes, multiple cars, more clothes, more shoes, more, more, more!

I’m not denying that one needs a home, and the potential benefits of owning some assets. At some point, they can become a yoke.

I read a book in early 2015 that is all about this idea “options over possessions” called Essentialism

I read dozens of books per year, and this book described what I was already thinking and doing in my personal and business life which was.

Simplifying the crap out of it.

As I was in the divorce process, I made a dozen plus trips to Goodwill. The idea being, if I did not LOVE this item, get rid of it. At this point, I don’t LOVE any “thing” – I love people, animals, and the world around me.

Essentialism also justifies the idea of saying “no” more. As the subtitle of the book suggests, “The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”