The subtitle of this book is My Year of Learning to Live Better with Less. Carlomagno decided her stressful life needed a bit of change. As a child she had been given up something small each Lent; as an adult she realised Lent was supposed to make you in some way a new person. So every month for a year she gave up one item or activity and assessed its place in her life. At the end of the month it was re-introduced, often in lessor amounts or differently.
Alcohol was her first effort, and she found it astonishing how much social pressure she experienced when she was with a group of people and was the only one not ordering alcohol. There was also pressure to keep up and drink the same amount as everyone else.
Giving up her mobile phone was not a good idea overall, as it inconvenienced everyone around her. Giving up chocolate led to no changes. Giving up TV proved one of the most difficult, even though she picked a month when her favourite sports team wasn't playing.
I thought giving something up cold turkey for a month and then re-introducing it, possibly with changes, was a sensible idea. A month is short enough to manage for most people's willpower, and long enough to work out your level of dependence and if you want to change it or not. It also gives you a good idea of how much it changes your social interactions, and whether that change is good or bad or neutral.
Giving up eating out (Carlomagno bought 3 meals a day) was one of the most valuable changes, as she re-discovered fresh food, choosing your own portion size, and re-connected with her mother over cooking.
Giving up shopping (by which she meant clothes and shoes and personal adornment rather than groceries) had a large and permanent impact on her finances, as she hadn't realised the amount she spent, how much she never wore anyway, or how much she bought just because she shopped socially with friends.
Alcohol was her first effort, and she found it astonishing how much social pressure she experienced when she was with a group of people and was the only one not ordering alcohol. There was also pressure to keep up and drink the same amount as everyone else.
Giving up her mobile phone was not a good idea overall, as it inconvenienced everyone around her. Giving up chocolate led to no changes. Giving up TV proved one of the most difficult, even though she picked a month when her favourite sports team wasn't playing.
I thought giving something up cold turkey for a month and then re-introducing it, possibly with changes, was a sensible idea. A month is short enough to manage for most people's willpower, and long enough to work out your level of dependence and if you want to change it or not. It also gives you a good idea of how much it changes your social interactions, and whether that change is good or bad or neutral.
Giving up eating out (Carlomagno bought 3 meals a day) was one of the most valuable changes, as she re-discovered fresh food, choosing your own portion size, and re-connected with her mother over cooking.
Giving up shopping (by which she meant clothes and shoes and personal adornment rather than groceries) had a large and permanent impact on her finances, as she hadn't realised the amount she spent, how much she never wore anyway, or how much she bought just because she shopped socially with friends.
Of course, everyone would have to look at their own life for a list of things to trial - not being a single young women in a big city, in an average month I don't do 9 of the 12 things she chose to give up!
Give It Up! first published 2006
No comments:
Post a Comment