Two questions to ask when letting go of something valuable

You may have gathered from last week’s post How long would you wait in line to purchase that (again)?, and the new free Custom Order video series, that I LOVE to use questions to guide people towards finding their own inner compass when it comes to decluttering.

This is why I thoroughly enjoyed 2 questions in Psychology Today’s article How Cognitive Traps Make it Harder to Let Go of Our Stuff. In it, Austin Perlmutter shares three cognitive traps we commonly fall into when placing value on things we own. These can make letting go perplexingly hard. Amongst these traps is the "Endowment Effect”:

“Look around at some of the things you own, and ask how much you would sell them for. Now ask yourself how much you’d be willing to pay for the same object. The difference can be shocking, and it’s a powerful tool in helping you let go of less important possessions.” - Austin Perlmutter M.D.

To learn more about the Endowment Effect, the Sunk Cost Fallacy, and the Ikea Effect, read Perimutter’s article here. Awareness of these traps might help you to let go of a couple more (or 100 more) things.