The Lickable Third
I spent the weekend organising my wardrobe. Now when I say wardrobe, I mean dressing room! A few years ago, I took one of the children’s old bedrooms and made it into a room for all of my clothing and accessories.
I have a lot of stuff. I love clothing and have spent years collecting incredible stuff. The problem with stuff is that you have to manage it. If you are a "stuff person", you will understand the energy behind going out to buy new containers to put your stuff into!
("Non-stuff people" will say - “Just get rid of it!”)
Managing a lot is the story of my life. As a maximalist, I have always had a lot of stuff. I collect things and love the chaos of being constantly surrounded by a visual symphony.
Until I don’t.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed and crave some sense of order! This is where my ‘lickable third theory’ comes in useful.
The Lickable Third is a book that I wrote in 2019. It's based on the theory that 1/3 of your life is brilliant, the stuff you put on social media. 1/3 of your life is o.k, it could be better, you need to make more of an effort and 1/3 of your life is shit. The bits you don’t want people to know about.
The Lickable Third is a way of life. It’s about having more of what you love, surrounded by your favourite stuff with the people you adore.
I think that in life, we get what we focus on. It makes sense to me that we should focus on the best bits. The best bits of your life, your body, your friends, your stuff.
Life is short and we are here for such a limited time. We need to be discerning and I think ruthless with our lives.
In our busy overstuffed and overwhelmed modern world,
I reckon the secret is to do more with less.
Spend more time with your most favourite people.Wear your favourite clothes everyday. Focus on the things that you love.
It's not always easy to find the things we love about ourselves or to focus on the things that we love about our partner. Sometimes it is tough finding the things you love about your children, parents and other family members!
1/3 of their personality you adore.1/3 of the things they do drive you completely mad: Not putting their washing in the basket. Not replacing the toilet roll. 1/3 of their personality doesn’t bother you at all.
I am a big fan of ranking people. Knowing who is in your top 1/3 helps you to decide where to best spend your time. Who contributes to your energy? Who contaminates it? Who supports you? Who do you support? Put them into three columns.
Love Love Love
Not bothered
Drive me bananas.
Do this for family/work/friends. From these lists, who are your top 20? The top people in your life. Be discerning. Stop wasting time on people who do not add value to your life.
The same goes for all the stuff in your world. Of the stuff that surrounds you - what do you love? What are your favourite 5 things in your house? What ‘things’ do you feel deeply connected to? What things bring back fond memories or good feelings?
1/3 of the stuff in your kitchen is useful. 1/3 of it you love. Your favourite knife. A special coffee cup. The perfect sized bowl. 1/3 of it is useless shit. Clutter. Stuff that is never used and is taking up space and energy.
I spent all of Sunday going through all of my clothing. 1/3 of my wardrobe I love. It feels great. It's your favourite colour. It reminds you of a time or a place. 1/3 of my clothing is useful. It is warm. It is comfortable. You wouldn’t run to save it in a fire but you would be lost without it. Your trusty black pants. A great top. And then there is the third that you never wear that you never even liked. It's just there taking up space.
This year, I want to be super discerning. I want less people but more connection. More time with those who really matter. I want to wear my favourite clothing everyday. I want to cook with my favourite wooden spoon and eat from my favourite bowl.
I want to have 33% more space in my world.
I want that for you too!
If you want to design a life you love, then come to my Energy Festivals! Each festival is a full day out containing two workshops. The first one is "Designing a Life you Love" and the second is "People Fuckery" How to handle yourself in a peopley world!
The festivals have been designed to be accessible for many:
Hamilton venue was chosen so that Auckland, Taupo & Tauranga could all do a day trip to attend. Alexandra was chosen for people in Dunedin, Invercargill & Queenstown to jump in a car and come & Featherston was chosen so that people from Hawkes Bay, Manawatu and Wellington would all attend!
Christchurch venue & date is being announced soon....