“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” – Nelson Mandela
For most of my life, I have lived under the impression that my actions will follow my heart – that the things I valued the most would be reflected by my life investment. That is, my money, time, energy, and mindfulness would be directed towards the things I valued most.
All while there is still some truth in that statement, over the past few years of pursuing minimalism, I have begun to notice that the inverse is also true. That my heart appears naturally drawn to the places where I have invested most – not that my investment follows my heart, but that my heart tends to follow my investment.
This principle was profoundly etched in my mind the day my family went grocery shopping and left the store to find a fresh, large, white scrape across the passenger side of our maroon mini-van. The mini-van was far from new. Yet, there was an immediate pit that emerged in my stomach over the wrong that had been committed. The driver kindly left us with no insurance or contact information… just a large noticeable scrape down the side of our vehicle. The distress was strengthened by the fact that we both knew I was far too cheap to get it repaired. The unsightly scratch would likely remain over the course of the van’s life.
As we drove away from the store in silence, I began to reflect on the scratch and more importantly, how the incident brought about such a gut level response. I found it interesting to consider the fact that if this same scrape had been left on my bicycle or my son’s skateboard, I would not have been nearly upset. And I couldn’t help but wonder why that was the case. Why did the action cut so deep into my stomach and heart?
And it occurred to me, I was so upset because our vehicle was such a large investment. I had invested money, time, and care into it. I wouldn’t mind if my son’s skateboard got a new scratch because… well, I didn’t have nearly as much invested into it. But my vehicle was a huge investment and because of that, my heart naturally gravitated toward it.
Our heart will always follow our greatest investments – whether it be our car, our house, our career, or our investment portfolio. We literally tie our hearts to certain things by the sheer amount of investment we put into them. And too many of us are tying our hearts to the wrong things. We are devoting our lives and tying our hearts to material possessions that will never last or bring us true joy. Lasting fulfillment can never be tied to things that are temporal by nature.
Instead, we ought to invest our money, time, and lives into things that are truly important. Invest into your family, your friends, or the causes that you believe in. And as you do, you’ll notice your heart naturally begins to be drawn to them more and more.
The spell of materialism can be hard to break. As long as we live on earth surrounded by material possessions, keeping them in proper perspective is going to be a struggle. But we can begin to break its fascination in our lives by reminding ourselves that we are investing more than our dollars into them. We are tying our very hearts to them as well.
Yan | Towards simplicity says
Thank you for this post Joshua. In addition to the monetary investment in the mini-van (or the iPad owned by Catherine who left a comment above), we also get attached to a social status the object provides. We frequently judge others who don’t seem to maintain their cars. Even when the thought that they may not be able to afford the repairs crosses our mind, we may feel superior because we think we can afford them (more money = better person). While iPads are sold by the thousands, it is still an object coveted by millions of people and many cannot afford it. When we walk around with an iPad in our hands, we want it to be shinny and be associated with its coolness. So when it gets nicked…
Jonathan - Punch Life in the Face says
This reminds me of a bicycle blog I read (I can’t remember the name), where the blogger would intentionally put a big scratch on any new bike he got so he could just ride it and not worry about scratching it.
Diane says
Over-valued possessions, we decided, were a burden, possessing their owners. We decided to own nothing we couldn’t be comfortable with – reproductions, not originals, cheap bindings, not rare editions. This idea of the burden of possessions we held to – and years later when we got our first glossy, new car, we hit it severely with a hammer to make it comfortably dented. –Sheldon Vanauken, A Severe Mercy
Ricki says
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Carol says
THANK YOU for this reference in the Bible!!
This blog post today really resonated with me — and reading the comments typically is the icing on the cake! I really enjoyed yours and have posted it on my wall at work.
Ricki says
You are so welcome Carol, it was just shouting out in my mind as I read the article. It’s so true :)
Diane says
That verse was screaming at me too as I read the article. I was really only scanning the comments to see if it had already been posted. Thanks Ricki!
Lisa S says
Ha! That verse popped into my mind right away, too. I also was looking to see if anyone had already posted it. It helps that our pastor referenced it this morning in his sermon.
Catherine says
Lovely post, and so very true. Last week, I accidentally dropped my iPad causing a nick on the top right hand corner. It absolutely irked me. I couldn’t get to the heart of the reason why it irked me so much. And then I read your article and all becomes clear. I finally get it! From my perspective, the iPad represented a big investment for me and I tied myself emotionally to it. It was this big invisible bond. Wow, thank you for this moment of pure clarity. I’ll know better next time something similar happens with another possession.
Martha (MM) says
What a beautiful post and so true!!
Christine says
Thank you for this wonderful post. I will be thinking about it a lot – this topic is definitely one I would like to work on.
And Joe, thank you for the link!
Kara says
Great post! Thank you so much for sharing.
Brooke {Slow Your Home} says
This is wonderful. Thanks.
After months of renovations and now months of decluttering and minimizing our extraneous stuff, I can see the absolute truth and value in this. I can guarantee I’ll be thinking on it over the weekend!
Joe Amadon says
Nice post. You might like a recent post from “You are not so Smart” on the Ben Franklin Effect. It is a very in-depth look at how we often create beliefs to support our actions instead of act based on our beliefs.
I find it odd how instinctive our reactions are to the marring of our possessions. I feel I have the same sort of reaction, even though the rational side of me understands that little is actually lost.
Joe Amadon says
Forgot to leave the link. Here it is if you want it:
http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/10/05/the-benjamin-franklin-effect/
Martin says
That’s a very useful insight. Thank you for sharing.