Going Back To Your Roots Unlocks Your Inner Power

We live in a society that has too much spare time and resources. Most of us have once in a while experienced the agonizing research for an app game to download on your smartphone because you’re trying to fill up the idle time in your day. I’ve got to wait for how long? I need an app to kill time. Unfortunately, it’s a direct consequence of our attitude towards common resources, whether it’s time or items you can find in shops. Because we have too much of everything, it’s hard to appreciate what is around us. 

But, if you were to ask your ancestors, you’d learn that time and resources are precious. Indeed, until the late 1960s, most households would still engage in necessary DIY activities. Your grandmother or great-grandmother probably even made her own clothes by hand, while her husband would roll up his sleeves and fix the car. Nowadays, things have changed a lot, and as a result, we have too much. Too much time. Too much stuff. And we don’t know how to appreciate any of it anymore. More importantly, we’ve let our shopping-centric society shape our existence. It’s time for a change! 

You stop taking things for granted

Appreciating the things you own begins by understanding how much work goes into making them. While you may not be in a position to build a house or construct a sophisticated machine, you can brush up some essential everyday skills to hone your connection to quality workmanship. Something as simple but too often overlooked as learning to maintain your engine can go a long way making you more aware of what the right thing is. More importantly, you can develop a new bond with your belongings by getting to understand them in depth. 

You understand the true cost of belongings

Why should you pay more for clothes when you can find similar items for less? The answer has to do with the material and production methods used. When you get familiar with cotton production, you can see how the cotton plant can be processed to reduce waste. Indeed, cotton can be grown and harvested for a variety of business uses, which means that it is a valuable material that can be turned into food products, consumer goods, and fashion. But you need to get involved in making your own things to understand how each item affects the environment. 

You redefine needs

We all want a lot of things. Our wish lists are forever growing with all the latest tech and innovative products we discover. However, when your single interaction with an item is as a buyer, you don’t get an overview of what needs and wants are. You can easily get confused between the two. As a result, we overspend our money and underspend our time. Your relationship to commercial products changes the moment you start making your own. You don’t have to make everything from scratch. But simple projects such as sewing a dress or baking bread can help you reevaluate your wants vs. needs list. 

Changing your attitude to life can be just as simple as learning how to make things rather than pay for them to be delivered. While it doesn’t mean you should boost all your DIY skills, going back to the roots of manual know-how can make you appreciate your time and money in a different light.