The Accumulation Mindset - The Fat Cat : Cluttered Mind - Cluttered Car

 

The Accumulation Mindset - The Fat Cat

Cluttered Mind - Cluttered Car

By Adam Mundorf


The Accumulation Mindset
I first learned of the accumulation mindset from my friend and mentor, Steve Maxwell.  He mentioned how many of life's issues come from feelings of insecurity, inadequacy and the empty pursuit of more.  At the time, it really didn't resonate with me because I was in the accumulation mindset myself.  I wanted more money and more things.  As I began to grow and mature, I started to see exactly what he was talking about.  Everyone has that idea in their head of the 'Fat Cat' businessman.  The man who is grotesquely obese, boisterous, smokes and lives a life of more (greed).  From the outside looking in he's materially successful but his insides show something much much different.  His health is failing, his mind is cluttered with obligation and he is committing the cardinal sin of greed.  As a matter of fact, he may fit the bill for all seven of the cardinal sins.  The larger the wallet, larger the house and larger the bank account leads to a larger waist plus a larger cabinet of prescription drugs to put a band-aid on a disease of the soul.  As Seneca warned us many years ago : "It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor."

This isn't to say live your life without living at all but just come to the realization that humans need much less than we think.  The more we have, the more obligations we acquire and quite frankly the more our mental space gets taken up.  We only have so much mental RAM to apply to our lives.  We could get into the virtues of accumulation but I digress.


Cluttered Mind - Cluttered Car
The problem with having a cluttered car is that the mind often follows.  Same thing with a cluttered desk in the office.  This isn't to say become a fucking maniac and become a germaphobe but keep tabs on skipping basic chores.  Think about what's going on in your life that causes you to allow trash to pile up in your passenger seat, your office, your kitchen or your closet.  Is it nervousness?  Is it sadness?  Is it feelings of inadequacy?  Take five minutes right now and get that taken care of, you'll feel much better because of it.  Small steps done over time lead to many miles traveled.  Imagine, if you took five minutes every single day and did something to improve your life?  This time next year, your life could look radically different.  Most people overestimate what they can do in a week but drastically underestimate what they can achieve in a year.



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