The Neuroscience of Decluttering
By Emily Falk
Dr. Falk is a neuroscientist and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
As a neuroscientist studying how people make decisions, I have also seen that when given the tools, people can choose to work with, rather than against, the brain systems that regulate decision making to help themselves let go of old ideas and behaviors. Knowing how our minds work is the first step to aligning our decision making with our goals and values.
...we feel that what is ours is good, and we increase the value we attach to objects, ideas and behaviors from our past.
Ubiquitous targeted advertising, frictionless buying and cheaper manufacturing have tricked us into accumulating so much more than we need.
Letting go isn’t hard because the objects themselves are objectively so precious. It’s hard because the brain sees it as changing who we are — and resists that. The same is true for our old ideas and behaviors. But if we take a step back and use our imagination and connection to others to see the problem in a new way, we can more purposefully let go of the things that aren’t serving us without losing the core of who we are.
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