My happiest moments, it turns out, were when I closely aligned with my values. I discovered this when I did an exercise to define my “Why” from a book written by team members from Simon Sinek’s company. This realization came to me when looking back on my life and categorizing each time as a good or a challenging time. My happiest moments, it turns out, were when I closely aligned with my values. Realizing how aligned or misaligned I was with my values was a revelation!
This month, I am learning to be a minimalist, which is one of my values. For 20 years, I’ve wanted fewer possessions. I was initially inspired by the book “Lit from Within” by Victoria Moran where in one chapter the author described the number of clothes she had in her closet. She had so few clothes that it thrilled me.
Meanwhile, as my career grew and my income increased, I drowned in possessions. By 2016, I finally admitted that buying one more souvenir, another luxurious perfume or booking another expensive trip didn’t necessarily make me any happier. That realization surprised me. Truthfully, I was bored with more stuff.
It has taken a long time to achieve some of these goals. There were other goals to reach first. I’m focusing on decluttering and purging possessions this year. The process is known to me. I’ve been following certified organizers for a long time, and I hate to admit that I have hired three different organizers in the past 20 years. So, I know what to do. I know what my personal goal is and there are other techniques, like the “333 Rules for Clothes”. I wasn’t the one who stopped me. It was the “why”.
Taking on a project where you must unburden yourself with possessions can destabilize you. But when you are strong emotionally and mentally, you’re able to take on this challenge. What I’m learning from this is the critical importance of understanding one’s values. Furthermore, it is equally imperative to keep daily activities in sync with those values.
Just as significant is recognizing that everything has its right time. I knew I wasn’t quite ready for it within the past six years to confront this challenge. This is because I was working on other challenges related to pivoting my career. Considering this, I allowed myself the grace and compassion of forgiveness. I knew I would eventually be able to meet this challenge when I had enough mental and emotional reserves available. The year 2025 is the year that “someday is now”. (https://learningtobe.substack.com/p/when-someday-is-now)
So, what actually worked was knowing my goal of minimalism, knowing that it was a top five value, but also, just as importantly, recognizing that this was not the right time until it was and once you recognize it’s the right time, the effort is seamless and reaching the goal is easier.
Can you name your top values? Is 2025 the right time to work on one of them?
Copyright © 2025 Devashri Gupta. All rights reserved.
Resources:
1) “Find Your Why” by David Mead, Peter Docker and Simon Sinek https://simonsinek.com/books/find-your-why/
2) “Lit from Within” by Victoria Moran https://victoriamoran.com/books-and-articles/
