Why it’s time to stop wanting it all.

Poor us. And I’m not saying that in a patronising way. Really: POOR US.

Look at us. Us humans who are lucky enough to have our basic needs met.

Here were are. Not 100% happy.

Desperately striving to live our best life.

Being sold the dream, constantly, that we must have more. Be more.

The future-based dream of The Limitless Life.

Advertisers teach us we can be anything we want.

We teach our children they can be anything they want.

We exude FOMO*.

We manically ‘manifest’.

Because we’re here once, right? One shot. One chance. So we better make it good. Better make it count. We better DO & HAVE ALL THE THINGS.

Because what if we don’t live enough?

* Fear Of Missing Out is defined by Cambridge Dictionary as “a worried feeling that you may miss exciting events that other people are going to, especially caused by things you see on social media.”

Legend has it that in Ancient Rome, Emperor Nero was the most powerful man on the planet. He could have whatever he wanted, all he had to do was point and he'd get it. However, what he could manifest was so limitless and infinite that it caused him total despair. So much despair in fact, that he had to set fire to Rome. It was the only way he could create something he couldn’t control.

As many a celeb’s shown us as well, believing we can have whatever we want is a one-way ticket to misery. Yet we still look at them with FOMO, through the filter of The Limitless Life - even though FOMO is proven to have a hefty impact on our mental health.

Remember the positive limits of the pandemic? Remember how we used to say “Wow, isn’t it nice to have less choice, less plans, less expectation?” The joy of buying the packet of spaghetti because there was a packet of spaghetti on the barren shelf.

The good news is, there are ways out and here are some of them:

• Channel JOMO instead of FOMO. AKA the ‘Joy Of Missing Out’ 😀
• Embrace the freedom of saying ‘no’
• Ask yourself ‘what if this is enough?’ when you get the wrong table at the restaurant, or the beach isn’t like the brochure, or your thighs don’t end up like the picture on the cellulite cream ad
• Limit social media because “comparison is the thief of joy” (Theodore Roosevelt)
• Practise gratitude (the antidote to FOMO)
• Allow the individualised focus of your desires shift to community spirit
• Allow yourself limits – will that want / dream really lead to a fuller life, or might you just burn down Rome?
• Practise mindfulness to start celebrating the ordinary 😀

Yes, we have one life. And it’s right now.

Happy Tuesday 😀

Love,
Jo x