Purging Mediocrity From My Life...

It’s not that spring is around the corner, because this started in January.  I suddenly became weary of everything in my home that was mediocre.  For most of my life I bought things based on price instead of quality, because frankly, that’s what I could afford.  Everything was always bought “on sale.”  It may not have been the exact color that I wanted or the exact size, but “what the heck, it will work!”  Whether it was kitchen items, linens, clothing, shoes, handbags, you name it, a deal is a deal. 
Then this year I just got fed up.  I was still using the same crappy pot and pans that, get this, I “won” based on points I accumulated from our bank accounts!  So I was shipped these very expensive looking Emeril pots and pans, all silver and shiny about four years ago!.  Then I put them on the stove and found out that “free” may not equate to quality!!  But I was still using them.
Finally one day in January I asked myself “WHY DO YOU HOLD ON TO THINGS THAT SUCK??”  Good question.  And I thought about it.  I believe it goes back to when I was a kid and we were taught to take care of things because “if you lose it or wreck it, that’s it!”  So here I am, 49 years old and I still feel the same way.  I DO take really good care of my “things.”  Ask Tom.  And I never lose anything, I know exactly where my stuff is at all times.  But believe me, I am not at all a pack rat or a hoarder.  I like order.  I have just made due with most everything that I bought five or ten years ago.  
So I decided that it was time to actually replace the crappy, bought on-sale stuff with things of quality. I chose based on two requirements:  “DO YOU LOVE IT?”  “IS IT GREAT QUALITY?”  What a fantastic feeling to be able to choose freely!!  And now I have started to give away everything that I didn’t like. It is a process.  But I sure as heck started with the pots and pans!  
I don’t think that this exercise has anything to do with money or your income.  I believe that you can do this, even if it is just one item a month that you replace, knowing that you will probably have the new “chosen” item for 5, 10, 20 or more years.  Start with the things that you use every day.  A handbag, a sauté pan, a blow dryer, bed linens.  What would make your heart sing every time you picked it up?  START THERE!
And then I realized that purging the mediocrity wasn’t just about “stuff!”  I needed to raise the bar on myself.  I needed to take my integrity up a level.  I needed to show up more and better to my friends and family.  I needed to generate MORE in our business.  I needed to “handle” some stuff that scared me.  Wow!  When I realized that little nugget I almost wanted to put all the crap back up on the shelves and call it a day!  But I didn’t and I am so happy.  Because it feels so good to be “clean.”  Happy purging, go take it up a notch!!