[2022-10-04] Curate your life
Among the jobs I had in my career was one as a director of management services with responsibility for a departmental library. In this role, I learned about culling and curating. Initially, I struggled with these concepts, wondering why the library would throw away perfectly good books. With time, however, I came to understand that space was limited and to make room for new things, we had to be willing to let go of old things that were no longer serving a purpose.
Like space, time is limited. Just as we can be curators of books (or music, recipes, collections, etc.), we can be curators of activities. A friend sent me this quote today by Leo Babauta:
Be a curator of your life. Slowly cut things out until you're left only with what you love, with what's necessary, with what makes you happy.
We often hear people say, "I'm too old for this." The this could be staying up late, consuming negative news, going to social events that leave them feeling drained, or any other activity they dislike.
When I think I'm too old for this, I mean several things:
- I'm too old to be doing something I don't want to do.
- I'm old enough to know I don't have to do this anymore.
- There aren't enough hours in the day and days in the year to waste on something that doesn't make me happy.
Of course, it's easier to cull the unwanted from my life now that I'm retired.
Today, pick one thing to remove from your life. Maybe it's taking responsibility for organizing family gatherings, or spending more time on social media than you'd like, or listening to naysayers. Be deliberate about which activities serve you, and slowly remove those that don't.
