I Quit!

Posted by Jill Chivers in Shopping Messages, Shopping, Clothes and Emotions

I was inspired this morning by a piece from Michael Neil of Supercoach.  In this piece, Michael tells a story, originally credited to Reverend Fred Craddock.  Having sat through my fair share of sermons in my life, I wasn’t sure I was going to like this story.  I felt the need to grip something firmly as the story began.  But I was wrong – it is a non-demoninational, un-preachy story that truly moved me.

It’s a story about a conversation between a man and a greyhound.  Yes, the dog (not the bus).  I felt a shiver go down my spine when I read it.  It goes like this:

I said to the dog “Are you still racing?”

“No,” he replied

“Well, what was the matter?  Did you get too old to race?”

“No, I still had some race in me.”

“Well, what then?  Did you not win?”

“I won over a million dollars for my owner.”

“Well, what was it?  Bad treatment?”

“Oh, no,” the dog said.  “They treated us royally when we were racing.”

“Did you get crippled?”

“No.”

“Then why?” I pressed.  “Why?”

The dog answered, “I quit.”

“You quit?”

“Yes,” he said.  “I quit.”

“Why did you quit?”

“I just quit because after all that running and running and running, I found out that the rabbit I was chasing wasn’t even real.”

Great story.  I’m not sure if it’s a parable or a metaphor – but whatever it is, I like it.

It got me thinking: What if shopping were that rabbit?  I discovered that shopping was the rabbit for me.  Shopping has a place in our lives, sure – but it isn’t “real”.  I don’t believe anyone will be lying on their deathbeds saying: I wish I’d done more shopping.  Or If only I’d bought that Prada bag when I had the chance!

We know that shopping doesn’t make us happy –  not long term.  And now we have the research to back that statement up!  Yes, San Francisco State University has just released the results of a study that tell us that experiences make us happier than stuff.  This doesn’t feel like news to me, but it’s an interesting piece of work that supports what I’ve discovered for myself, and what others who are doing the Shop Your Wardrobe program are discovering.

If you suspect that shopping may, indeed, be the “rabbit” and if you want to develop a healthier relationship to shopping– come join us.  You can learn about the 12 month Shop Your Wardrobe online program here, check out our phenomenal faculty here, and sign up here!

 

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