The Art Gallery Method

One of my favourite methods of shopping mindfully is to use what I call the Art Gallery method.

This is a simple shopping strategy where you pretend you are in an art gallery instead of a store, and you treat the items in the store as though they were objects of art in an art gallery.

You admire these objects of art.  But they aren’t for sale.

You can imagine what the artwork might look like in your home.  But you can’t buy it and take it home.

You may experience feelings of desire, and that is okay.  You just can’t act on it and reef the art work off the wall or the plinth it is balanced on and take it home (they call that “stealing”).

I only use it because it works

I find this method works a treat.  It also means I can take that attitude of ‘art appreciation’ and apply it to all the items I see, including those I don’t actually like or would ever want to own, for what they are.

This method dislocates me from the “Love it – must buy it!” mindless shopping cycle that can be so easy to get caught up in, and trapped by.

Oh, and there is no gift shop where you can buy a poster knock off of the real thing.

If you want to try this for yourself, here are my 3 tips for adopting the Art Gallery shopping strategy:

1. Pretend you are in an art gallery where everything you see is there to be admired – you can appreciate as much as you want.  There is no limits to how much admiring you can do of the items you see.  Art appreciators say that you need to understand why you like or dislike a piece of art (not just whether you like or dislike it), and this kind of “assessing behaviour” can be applied to the way you view items in a store — see it as a chance to educate your eye and inform your sense of style, without dipping into your wallet or adding to your wardrobe.
2. Nothing is for sale.  It simply is not possible to buy anything.  And since we know you’re not an art thief, everything you see will be staying where it is.  Since there is no end to the art that is available to be viewed, you need not worry that the art you just saw will be ‘moving on’, as another show will come along in its place very soon.
3. If a particular piece is calling to you and you are starting to experience strong feelings of desire for a particular piece, reflect on the items you already possess, and how you can get greater value from them in terms of use and appreciation.  You may wish to ask yourself some smart questions (perhaps these ones could help in the heat of the moment) that will keep you centred and calm, and tapping into feelings of enoughness.

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