You want happiness? You want to live a simple life? You are burdened by future’s need? Well, it’s a shame. I can’t help you, but I could tell you how I overcome those challenges.

I used to think that the best way to survive in life is to stock everything we may need in the future. When I was a student, I used to buy so many blank books for future needs, I bought over 30 loose leaf, hundreds pens, and other stationaries I think I will need later. I used to think by having ‘cool’ stuff, popular brands in school, it would make me ‘popular’ as well. But of course it doesn’t, not because I didn’t have the particular, but it depends more on my introvert personality.

Then comes high school, new friends, new environment to adapt. Well, let’s say I didn’t adapt very well in a very extroverted environment, loud friends and having attention made me feel uneasy. And more importantly, I found that I didn’t use the ‘cool’ stuff I had accumulated in junior high, so I began to giving it away. The funny things is giving those stuff gives me pleasure than retaining it.

University comes to me 3 years ago, this time I adapt better, perhaps because of everything new, new house, new town, new friends, new lifestyle, and my life seems to go to higher level than ever before. Living in a 35th floor apartment in the center of the city is waaayyyyy different than living in a 2 floor house in the suburban. Univesity flexible schedule suits me better than fixed high school schedule, and it also take part in enhancing my time management skill, now I have a principle like this, ‘if you don’t study, then play, but never do neither of it’. It cuts down the time I used to waste by doing random-useless things.

And you know what happened to the ‘cool’ stuff I accumulated earlier? I dumped 95% of it, giving it away to relatives, to charity, and I also reduced (or perhaps didn’t) buy those stuff anymore. I realized that by having less stuff, I am happier, I organize my belongings inside the wardrobe routinely, and I’m no longer cluttered when trying to find things I need.

Having cool stuff didn’t necessarily make me cool too, in fact I was dismayed by the trait, showing my dependancy on belongings as the indicator in valuing someone, it biased my judgement as well. Realizing that I could always buy things I need when I need it, instead of preparing things I may need in the future.

In this post I will go deeper than usual by elaborating the same concept above with my current life. Reading hundreds of self help, psychology books makes me realize many things I need to improve in my personality, like my introversion that need some adjustment, my intelorance for other’s stupidity, and not realziing my own stupidity. With some reflection I realized that today I still do accumulate cool stuff, in a different way. Instead of accumulating loose leaf paper and pens, nowi accumulate stock, money, and luxury goods (watches specially). The concept is still the same, accumulating cools stuff doesn’t make me perceived as more cool (not that I’m not cool). And also I may not need the stuff I accumulate now in the future.

What? Do you say that you don’t need money and those expensive watches? Perhaps I don’t, perhaps I will die in the near future, or I will buy a farm and live happily there ever after without needing outside sources. I don’t know, but how could an investor stop accumulating money? It’s just seems impossible to me. Cliche.

Th points are:
– Accumulating stuff or money doesn’t make me perceived as better man (perhaps it work for you though)
– You may not need the stuff you are accumulating now
– Valuing people from what they have is a biased judgement
– Having less stuff in life makes me happier and I organize more often (Those book about living in Zen way contribute in my life)
– Giving does makes me happy (I think this principle works universally)

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