00:06
Hi, this is Katie, and thank you for joining me on the Creating Your Sanctuary podcast, and this is a podcast about creating those little moments and space that support you.

00:19
And this week is going to be a shorter one because this could be a deep dive, but I want to key in on something important about FOMO.

00:32
And FOMO stands for fear of missing out.

00:35
And it definitely,

00:38
is something that I have, I don't know, fallen victim to, to, um, I'm definitely always searching for new things with what's shiny, what's new, what's interesting.

00:51
It's my ADHD, side of me, and I get caught up in, I only had this one thing.

01:00
It would really make my whole life easier, not just this one little area, but everything would be fixed, right?

01:07
And I think we've all succumbed to that now and again.

01:10
It's an honest take of, you know, marketing that we are exposed to social media.

01:17
Even our friends and family that have things and they're like, yeah, this is really great.

01:22
You should get yourself one.

01:23
And being in the US and just being surrounded by that all the time.

01:29
It normalized it.

01:31
It was something that, I had a lot of little boxes coming to our home quite regularly.

01:41
But now living in the Netherlands and Europe here, it's been so wonderful to step away from that.

01:48
I mean, one thing I know is that it's on my radar that we are trying to make it here.

01:55
So I am consciously not buying a lot of things.

01:59
Um, and it's helped.

02:03
It's actually helped calm that need that I need to be fixed.

02:09
Um, or that this one thing will fix everything.

02:14
It's put more things into perspective. There's advertising here.

02:20
We're, you know, we still have it around us.

02:23
It's not like it's gone away.

02:24
But there's something about the day-to-day life of looking around and just seeing people living out their normal lives, where I can admire what they have, but not have this need to go and acquire it.

02:43
So, It's very healing for me.

02:49
It's very healing to, um, recognize what was happening in being in that culture. And I do feel like because of my ADHD, I was more susceptible to everything.

03:02
Um, it's why we had a garage and a, um, shed full of items and, you know, our house was full of stuff too, and we had to, go through it all and get rid of it. And that was the biggest step for us to just go through everything and see what we were bringing here.

03:26
But knowing that those items were getting in the way of what our goal was to move and to be happier elsewhere.

03:35
So, it actually, it's partly not being around all of that culture here of just buying to fix things.

03:47
But it's also taking stock of everything that you have, that really does help and go, oh, wait, why did I buy this in the 1st place? And you're looking at all these items and you're seeing it all leave.

04:02
It's quite a thing to experience.

04:06
And I do believe you can do the same thing without moving.

04:10
I do believe that you can go through the items that you have.

04:13
But I also do see where the culture of the area that you're living in and the people that surround you, that they can be the most well-intentioned, but also are like, yeah, this is great.

04:29
And I also love the design of things and I love building a sanctuary and just like I mentioned, you know, in a previous podcast about how you are your things, but you aren't.

04:42
You are your wants and desires, but you aren't.

04:46
So you can have those waves of feelings of, oh, I would really want that.

04:52
I really would love that.

04:54
I would really like to experience that, whether it's like a new puzzle or a new model to put together or a new journal or a new whatever.

05:02
I do think there is a time and a place to acquire something new in your life and to replace things in your life that aren't working and to also enjoy those things that you've had for a long time.

05:15
And there's a reason why companies want to keep you overwhelmed and tired and disconnected from others.

05:23
And that so that you will buy from them, and that you will keep searching for answers when everything is just so muddled and so complicated and so emotional right now, that it is easier to try to think of something else that will fix how you're feeling.

05:45
It's really hard to cut down on all of these things around us.

05:51
But know that as you go through your things.

05:56
And as you're, um, if you're downsizing or decluttering or whatever you want to call it, if you're looking at all of these things that we're trying to solve pains in your life, sometimes you really have to sit with that. And either sit with someone who can navigate you through that or sit with your therapist or sit with a family member, because it is going to bring up a lot of emotions.

06:24
But as you're going through that and you're processing it.

06:27
You can get better bearings of like, okay, I am susceptible to this, no shame in that, but also, so I can surround myself in an environment that does make me feel like enough, that does make me appreciate the things that I already have and enjoy and to stop and take the time to enjoy them.

06:51
Sometimes it's that item that sits on the shelf and you're not experiencing it.

06:56
But you had all the intention to.

06:58
Maybe there is a time to actually experience it to, I know for me, it's very healing, to actually have the follow through and to use the item, to enjoy it, to know that it's there for a purpose, and to let go of what isn't.

07:15
So just a reminder, however you're Creating Your Sanctuary right now, if you are editing things down, if you are limiting what is coming in, it's enough for right now and you are enough as well.

07:29
I'll see you next time.