"The Prison of Nostalgia" (Patreon)

Patreon Exclusive. Joshua and Ryan discuss recognizing and overcoming our emotional attachments to our possessions, and they answer the following questions:

What is “sentimentality”? (15:19)

Why is nostalgia dangerous? (17:13)

What are some creative ways to repurpose sentimental items for daily use rather than having them simply collect dust on a shelf? (22:40)

What should I do if photographs simply don’t replace having the actual items for me? (25:42)

What is the difference between a collection and a curation? (28:45)

What should we do with awards since they have little to no value beyond the recipient, and if you donate them, they’ll likely end up in a landfill? (44:25)

What is your take on memory boxes that parents make for children? (50:49)

Challenging the idea of “our memories are not in our things”—what if you don’t have a good memory? (57:43)

What should I do with sentimental items that other people can’t really use, like my personalized high school drill team letter jacket? (1:03:55)

Why didn’t it make me feel good when I let go of my most recent house and two dumpsters of my possessions? (1:06:19)

LINKS

Article: The Problem with Always Wanting More

Book: Everything That Remains

Book: Love People, Use Things

Book: Minimalist Rulebook

Class: How to Write Better

Essay: Nostalgia Is Dangerous

Instagram: Jordan Moore

Instagram: Podcast Shawn

Instagram: Jess Williams

Listen: “You Don’t Let This Go”

Podcast: Sentimental Stuff

Resources: The Minimalists

Subscribe: The Minimalists

Text: 937-202-4654

Tour: The Minimalists

Watch: Less Is Now

Watch: Minimalism

Website: Becoming Minimalist

Website: John Pawson

YouTube: Joshua Becker

MAXIMS

“Contentment is uncovered by subtraction.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“Happiness is buried beneath our stuff.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“It’s easier to find contentment with nothing than with everything.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“We can’t swipe and spend our way to tranquility.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“The trophy does not make the champion.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“There are no shoulds—only coulds.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“Our memories are not in our things; our memories are inside us.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“Letting go is part of the grieving process.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“Letting go is not something you do; letting go is something you stop doing.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“If we let go too soon, we fall; if we hold on to long, we stall.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“Letting go is an act of self-compassion.” —Ryan Nicodemus

“Sometimes letting go of shoulds is more freeing than letting go of stuff.” —Ryan Nicodemus

“The journey does not continue if we cling to the past.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“Wisdom begets minimalism; minimalism does not beget wisdom.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“Others’ attachments are not your attachments.” —Ryan Nicodemus

“Possessions have no intrinsic meaning—only the meaning we assign to them.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“We can’t get people to understand things they don’t want to understand.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“When we tell people ‘no,’ we must also tell them what we’re saying ‘yes’ to.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“If we hold on for too long, we get dragged.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

This Maximal episode corresponds with Minimal episode 283.