Saturday 8 November 2014

Quick wardrobe reflection and dealing with FOMO


It is now November.

I updated my wardrobe spreadsheet. Two observations.

(1) I tallied up the total items purchased since July (4 - that's on average 1 item per month). Wardrobe $ spent is so far less than 5% of net income. This 5% figure is the percentage that I gather what most people would allocate to their wardrobe spending, so I am just using this as a loose guideline. My own stats - this percentage varies depending on the stage of my life (and other financial goals at the time), so I don't have a definite number (or even range) that's representative of my wardrobe budget. So my approach when it comes to this budgetary allocation is this: if you can afford it, then go for it. It's your money, your choices, your decisions. Live life the way you want to, spend your money in accordance with that.

(2) September was a no spend month. I bought two things in October, one of which was this beauty. I toyed with the idea of November being a no spend month - we are a third of the way into the month and I haven't come across anything that's enticing. Then again, my lust list these days looks different from my lust list in prior months, so that's probably an important factor. In some ways, I think I am being unrealistic in the sense that I would like every single item that I acquire from this point forward to inspire me (instead of just being functional). But I don't need anything right now, so I am okay with proceeding with this mindset until it is proven to be unsuitable for my lifestyle.

I am not sure if November is going to be a no spend month because of Black Friday. Previously, I have been enticed by the great bargains to be had during this time of the year, right through to post Christmas sales. I was easily enticed by the idea of scoring a bargain without much consideration as to how each acquisition would fit into my current closet. This is something that I would like to change since a couple of years ago, but somehow, I still fall into the same 'trap'. This brings me to:

FOMO. Fear Of Missing Out.

How many times do we let ourselves decide to do something out of FOMO?

Why do we let fear rule our lives when we know that it usually brings us dissatisfaction eventually?

Recognise FOMO for what it really is: fear.

Fear is the stage you are in. It's ok to feel fear, feeling something is part of the human experience. And what you do while you're feeling that fear is important.

How to move past living in fear?

When you are living in fear, and you want to stop living in fear, your response is firstly going to be most likely living with courage. This happens when you're doing something despite the fear.  So, when you come across a pair of jeans, your size, your favourite brand, on a steep discount and you choose not to purchase them because you know that you already have too much jeans despite feeling that you are missing out if you don't buy them right now - congratulations, you are living with courage.

Courage, I find, is like a habit. If you make a habit of being courageous, you would attain a state of mindfulness, you understand why you do the things that you do and this understanding makes it easier for you to stay true to yourself. And staying true to yourself brings this quiet sense of satisfaction that people call peace.

It always begin with yourself. The first step is to look deep down within yourself. It is when you have enough courage to listen to yourself that you discover who you really are.

My problem is that sometimes I forget who I am, especially when I am tempted by so many beautiful things.

And I really really want to be especially mindful this month.

Wish me luck.

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