I’m a personal stylist, and I swear, meditation has created a slow-mo effect in my brain!
You know all those times when you’ve said something you didn't mean to your partner or snapped at your kids? Or bought a new top because you just couldn't live without it at that very moment?
Well… all of those things still happen to me, BUT there is about 20-30% decrease in making those rash decisions now, all thanks to meditation! Which is pretty incredible, don’t you think?
I’m not here to talk about partners and kids though. As a personal stylist, I wanna share my thoughts and ideas on how to buy less clothes while online shopping. So, here we go:
1. Be mindful.
Close your eyes. Imagine yourself browsing online. You’ve come across that perfect blouse, or a top. Before you actually checkout, here is what you do:
Pause, take 3 deep breaths, feel your hands on your lap, your feet on the ground. Congrats - you’ve just completed a short meditation! Now ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I already have something similar⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
- Is this going to be comfortable
- Does it work for me⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
- Is this a good price⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
- Is it going to be easy to clean⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
- Is this going to work with the rest of my clothes
It might not always work but it’s a handy habit to get into.
2. Observe the desire.
Imagine yourself looking at that top again. Can you feel the desire to buy it rise inside? That urgency you can’t do anything about? Try sitting for a minute and watch the desire, while breathing slowly and feeling the air coming in and out. Can you watch the desire rise and then fall before acting on it and making the purchase?
As amazing meditation teacher Tara Brach said: “There is nothing ethically wrong with wanting. Desire is natural - it’s at the core of our existence. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for desire.” Our urge to buy is the urge to connect in a certain way - whether it’s to feel safety, nourishment, emotional or spiritual connection. So, it’s not about getting rid of desire, it’s about how we are relating to it and whether our identity gets hooked by it. It can turn into addiction if we lack something in our life – love, connection, acknowledgment, respect. So we want to fill this gap with purchases.
3. It’s just dopamine, that’s all.
We crave buying something new because we anticipate it will make us happy/loved/respected/comfortable. Anticipation is caused by the spike of dopamine - a chemical produced by our body which sends us the signal to buy. And if anyone even once experienced the joy and excitement of buying something, they would want to keep coming back over and over again - in other words they would create a buying habit - which we generally experience in our day-to-day life.
It is the anticipation of a reward - not the fulfilment of it - that gets us to take action. In other words, it really helps me to know that all the joy and excitement comes before I buy, not after. This, in combination with a mindful pause and asking myself the right questions before buying stops me from making rash purchases (Not always! I’m a human, after all, besides, I see so many choices when I shop for other people as a personal stylist, so I need this even more!).
If you’d like more ideas on how to do online shopping mindfully, get in touch for a free call