Mindful Shopping
What does shopping have to do with health coaching?
Our personalized health coaching programs address not only the most important aspects of your physical health but also offer ways to optimize your mental health.
One central concept in our approach to mental health is that of practicing mindfulness as a way to bring more peace and happiness to every moment in your daily life. Being mindful is simply focusing on the present moment, acting intentionally, all the while letting the past and the future fall away by the wayside.
At its essence, shopping is the acquisition of material goods that should feed us, clothe us, and make our lives safer, better, and more satisfying. However, when we stop shopping mindfully this activity takes on a significantly more sinister tone. In our society today shopping has become not only a major national pastime costing us billions of dollars a year, it has also been described as an endurance sport ("shop 'til you drop"), a treatment for our ailments ("retail therapy"), and even as an addiction (we all know some 'shopaholics'!).
Many of the products we purchase with the intention of making our lives better soon become anxiety-inducing clutter, unnecessary distractions, additional responsibilities, nagging chores for maintenance, and money sinkholes requiring our attention, taking up our time, and demanding costly repairs. Many of these objects eventually become useless and typically irreparable when broken.
Our perceived necessity to shop and consume more and more has made us a society living on borrowed credit where the majority of us do not have any significant savings and have become enslaved to our financial obligations. This paradoxical situation in which we have more than the necessary material possessions can often times cause us chronic stress, pressure us into jobs we may not want, pull us away from the people we love and the activities that bring us true joy. And before we know it we may be, as the author Dave Ramsey puts it,
"Buying things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."
That kind of sad, suboptimal existence is exactly what our health coaching programs aim to prevent or eliminate in your life! We aim to make you not just be physically free of disease, but to make you joyfully thrive in a fulfilled life.
And we must not forget the environmental impact that comes with our consumeristic culture. Every single product we purchase takes a toll on the environment that we depend on. From the moment every product is manufactured, transported and stored, until we buy it. Then, after we use it we discard it, and its destructive impact on the quality of our air, water, soil and the toll on our energy infrastructure continues, sometimes for hundreds of years.
And so, let us go forth and shop for the things we truly need and and some that we want. But let us do it mindfully.
One central concept in our approach to mental health is that of practicing mindfulness as a way to bring more peace and happiness to every moment in your daily life. Being mindful is simply focusing on the present moment, acting intentionally, all the while letting the past and the future fall away by the wayside.
At its essence, shopping is the acquisition of material goods that should feed us, clothe us, and make our lives safer, better, and more satisfying. However, when we stop shopping mindfully this activity takes on a significantly more sinister tone. In our society today shopping has become not only a major national pastime costing us billions of dollars a year, it has also been described as an endurance sport ("shop 'til you drop"), a treatment for our ailments ("retail therapy"), and even as an addiction (we all know some 'shopaholics'!).
Many of the products we purchase with the intention of making our lives better soon become anxiety-inducing clutter, unnecessary distractions, additional responsibilities, nagging chores for maintenance, and money sinkholes requiring our attention, taking up our time, and demanding costly repairs. Many of these objects eventually become useless and typically irreparable when broken.
Our perceived necessity to shop and consume more and more has made us a society living on borrowed credit where the majority of us do not have any significant savings and have become enslaved to our financial obligations. This paradoxical situation in which we have more than the necessary material possessions can often times cause us chronic stress, pressure us into jobs we may not want, pull us away from the people we love and the activities that bring us true joy. And before we know it we may be, as the author Dave Ramsey puts it,
"Buying things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."
That kind of sad, suboptimal existence is exactly what our health coaching programs aim to prevent or eliminate in your life! We aim to make you not just be physically free of disease, but to make you joyfully thrive in a fulfilled life.
And we must not forget the environmental impact that comes with our consumeristic culture. Every single product we purchase takes a toll on the environment that we depend on. From the moment every product is manufactured, transported and stored, until we buy it. Then, after we use it we discard it, and its destructive impact on the quality of our air, water, soil and the toll on our energy infrastructure continues, sometimes for hundreds of years.
And so, let us go forth and shop for the things we truly need and and some that we want. But let us do it mindfully.
We can't go on as usual.
Today's products are not built to last and this is not a bug, it's a feature. For decades we've been devolving into a society of disposables: From plates, cups, cutlery, bags, to bottles and napkins. Sixty years ago none of these things were disposable and yet here we are today.
But what about things like cell phones, mobile accessories, chargers, GPS, digital watches and laptop computers? How long are these likely to last you? 18, 24, 36 months? Have you ever been told by a repairman that you are "better off replacing" a toaster oven, a microwave, a washing machine or refrigerator because the "repair will cost you more than buying a new one"? This is not some kind of inevitable matter of fact. This unimaginably wasteful cost dynamic is by design and it maximizes corporate profits... at the cost of massively cluttering our homes and destroying our one and only, irreplaceable natural environment. However much we may have grown accostumed to this mindset, it is NOT normal, mainly because it negatively impacts our health and it is simply unsustainable.
But what about things like cell phones, mobile accessories, chargers, GPS, digital watches and laptop computers? How long are these likely to last you? 18, 24, 36 months? Have you ever been told by a repairman that you are "better off replacing" a toaster oven, a microwave, a washing machine or refrigerator because the "repair will cost you more than buying a new one"? This is not some kind of inevitable matter of fact. This unimaginably wasteful cost dynamic is by design and it maximizes corporate profits... at the cost of massively cluttering our homes and destroying our one and only, irreplaceable natural environment. However much we may have grown accostumed to this mindset, it is NOT normal, mainly because it negatively impacts our health and it is simply unsustainable.
Why just 'shop' when you can curate.
A new and fresh approach to shopping is called for and there are people out there making great progress.
Firstly, we must do our own internal work on understanding why we shop and what shopping can and cannot do for us. We cover these topics and a lot more in our coaching programs.
Secondly, once we've concluded that we really do need to buy something, there are specific criteria that will help us not only truly get the greatest value for our buck, but also a better and longer-lasting experience using of our purchases.
Firstly, we must do our own internal work on understanding why we shop and what shopping can and cannot do for us. We cover these topics and a lot more in our coaching programs.
Secondly, once we've concluded that we really do need to buy something, there are specific criteria that will help us not only truly get the greatest value for our buck, but also a better and longer-lasting experience using of our purchases.
Our recommended products
At ELITE we have done our own research for the best built, most dependable and most highly rated products that will be the most useful for the longest time possible. These are the products we use every day in our own home. Due to demands from many of our clients we have finally decided to curate these products in one place to allow you to see them and compare them to any other alternatives available in the market place. We've done this in our new Product Recommendation Section. As an active ELITE Member you have exclusive access to visit it. We hope you will find it useful and informative!
Buy Me Once is an online retailer of products rated by users for their extraordinary quality, durability, sustainability, quality aftercare and timeless design.
Buy Me Once recommends using the specific criteria (as shown on the figure on the right) when selecting what to buy. We recommend visiting their website and joining their movement to encourage manufacturers to get back to building high quality products designed to last.
Buy Me Once recommends using the specific criteria (as shown on the figure on the right) when selecting what to buy. We recommend visiting their website and joining their movement to encourage manufacturers to get back to building high quality products designed to last.
