Disaster struck in my first world, with blood...
My phone shattered, like literally the screen shattered into a trillion pieces. I, in fact, cut myself a tiny bit and I swear I saw a bit of blood coming through (look I want to add some drama to this story!).
Truth be told, this is the first time I’ve ever broken my phone. I didn't know what to do because half the screen had some weird data lines, the other half was the regular homepage, and the thing was possessed. Things were turning on and off by themselves. At one point my meditation app goes off as I’m sitting in the coffee shop -- Now imagine your thoughts floating away... -- and I couldn’t turn it off! Apple makes you swipe to the right to actually turn your phone off. Seriously Apple, that’s a physical hazard! I’m not trying to slice my finger over here!
So I did what any smart person would do in this situation -- I posted on Facebook.
The conversation got hilarious real fast. There were people who were like, "Oh my God Shazia, get out of 2010. Get a new phone." There were others that were like, "Be green and get it fixed. It's probably just the screen that needs to be replaced." And I loved the folks who told me “You deserve an upgrade” <-- you know how to speak to my heart!
I didn’t know about phone repair until this FB thread so I stopped by a shop expecting them to say, time for a new phone. Instead she’s like “oh, it’s your screen and LCD. No problem, we’ll fix that for $85 and it'll be ready in 45 min.”
Part of me started getting a bit indecisive again (this is a bad habit of mine that I've been working on for the last few years – post for another time!). Should I spend the $85 and get it fixed or just upgrade and get a new phone?
People’s suggestions started swirling in my head because they were all good. Maybe the lady saw my RBF (Resting B#*(@ Face) face as I was contemplating but she said the perfect thing -- "You know what? Your phone is actually really good. The design is great compared to other models and I would fix it so you can at least keep it or trade it in or give it to somebody. I recommend keeping this one."
I decided you know what? She can fix this now and this phone's literally an extension of myself, so I decided to save my third kidney.
Why's that important? Because this is just (kind of) a funny story about a phone…but the moral of the story is about choice when the choices in front of you are all good. In this case, upgrade or fix.
Ultimately what I needed was to make a choice for myself. In that moment I had to think about, what do I choose to do right now?
That choice was to get it repaired. Now, could I have gone out and bought a new phone? Yes. This isn't about the cost calculation for getting a new phone. I've come to a point where if something's worth it, I'll invest in it. At the same time, I like to be wise about my investments. I own making choices about where I'm going to spend my money.
That's the point I want to make -- you can also make those choices for yourself.
When it comes to spending, there's a great animation called, "The Story of Stuff." She talks about the lifecycle of products, and how things now are created to basically break. We live in a society that tells you what's cool, in style now, and what isn't. It's causing us to always buy things but meant to be thrown away. I love being green and believe we should be saving the earth.
On the flip side I also believe you deserve to upgrade or spoil yourself. I believe in treating yourself like a VIP, and making sure you have what's going to work for you because it will make life that much better for you.
I've learned there are things I need that are going to make me feel better about myself. For example, I might get my nails did because my toenails look like fug. Other times, maybe I don't decide to get the latest technology because it's not really important to me. And when it comes to travel or personal growth..I've stopped looking at the bill because I enjoy it so much.
When it comes to money choices, it's about prioritizing. It's about making a choice of what matters to you. The choice you make may be incredibly valuable to you. But, to somebody else they may be like, "Why are you wasting your money on that?"
But is it wasting money if you love it and it makes you feel great? There's an inherent value there that is not always measurable by numbers.
So if you want that designer handbag that makes you feel like a CEO or you want to travel to Iceland in the middle of February because you can, go for it! Even if the naysayers (which is sometimes our own self) are trying to tell you that’s a 'waste' or not 'worth it'.
What you decide to get is completely worth it! And so are you.
My point is make a choice, and make it your choice. You have the agency to make choices in your life, and those choices don't have to be driven by others, by expectations, by society, by what people say, or by an assumption of what somebody may or may not think.
If you start to living life in this way, you're going to start loving the things that you choose. This goes beyond just the things you buy.
And what if you knew there were no mistakes?
What choice would you make now? Comment below and let me know!
Hugs,
Shazia
Truth be told, this is the first time I’ve ever broken my phone. I didn't know what to do because half the screen had some weird data lines, the other half was the regular homepage, and the thing was possessed. Things were turning on and off by themselves. At one point my meditation app goes off as I’m sitting in the coffee shop -- Now imagine your thoughts floating away... -- and I couldn’t turn it off! Apple makes you swipe to the right to actually turn your phone off. Seriously Apple, that’s a physical hazard! I’m not trying to slice my finger over here!
So I did what any smart person would do in this situation -- I posted on Facebook.
The conversation got hilarious real fast. There were people who were like, "Oh my God Shazia, get out of 2010. Get a new phone." There were others that were like, "Be green and get it fixed. It's probably just the screen that needs to be replaced." And I loved the folks who told me “You deserve an upgrade” <-- you know how to speak to my heart!
I didn’t know about phone repair until this FB thread so I stopped by a shop expecting them to say, time for a new phone. Instead she’s like “oh, it’s your screen and LCD. No problem, we’ll fix that for $85 and it'll be ready in 45 min.”
Part of me started getting a bit indecisive again (this is a bad habit of mine that I've been working on for the last few years – post for another time!). Should I spend the $85 and get it fixed or just upgrade and get a new phone?
People’s suggestions started swirling in my head because they were all good. Maybe the lady saw my RBF (Resting B#*(@ Face) face as I was contemplating but she said the perfect thing -- "You know what? Your phone is actually really good. The design is great compared to other models and I would fix it so you can at least keep it or trade it in or give it to somebody. I recommend keeping this one."
I decided you know what? She can fix this now and this phone's literally an extension of myself, so I decided to save my third kidney.
Why's that important? Because this is just (kind of) a funny story about a phone…but the moral of the story is about choice when the choices in front of you are all good. In this case, upgrade or fix.
Ultimately what I needed was to make a choice for myself. In that moment I had to think about, what do I choose to do right now?
That choice was to get it repaired. Now, could I have gone out and bought a new phone? Yes. This isn't about the cost calculation for getting a new phone. I've come to a point where if something's worth it, I'll invest in it. At the same time, I like to be wise about my investments. I own making choices about where I'm going to spend my money.
That's the point I want to make -- you can also make those choices for yourself.
When it comes to spending, there's a great animation called, "The Story of Stuff." She talks about the lifecycle of products, and how things now are created to basically break. We live in a society that tells you what's cool, in style now, and what isn't. It's causing us to always buy things but meant to be thrown away. I love being green and believe we should be saving the earth.
On the flip side I also believe you deserve to upgrade or spoil yourself. I believe in treating yourself like a VIP, and making sure you have what's going to work for you because it will make life that much better for you.
I've learned there are things I need that are going to make me feel better about myself. For example, I might get my nails did because my toenails look like fug. Other times, maybe I don't decide to get the latest technology because it's not really important to me. And when it comes to travel or personal growth..I've stopped looking at the bill because I enjoy it so much.
When it comes to money choices, it's about prioritizing. It's about making a choice of what matters to you. The choice you make may be incredibly valuable to you. But, to somebody else they may be like, "Why are you wasting your money on that?"
But is it wasting money if you love it and it makes you feel great? There's an inherent value there that is not always measurable by numbers.
So if you want that designer handbag that makes you feel like a CEO or you want to travel to Iceland in the middle of February because you can, go for it! Even if the naysayers (which is sometimes our own self) are trying to tell you that’s a 'waste' or not 'worth it'.
What you decide to get is completely worth it! And so are you.
My point is make a choice, and make it your choice. You have the agency to make choices in your life, and those choices don't have to be driven by others, by expectations, by society, by what people say, or by an assumption of what somebody may or may not think.
If you start to living life in this way, you're going to start loving the things that you choose. This goes beyond just the things you buy.
And what if you knew there were no mistakes?
What choice would you make now? Comment below and let me know!
Hugs,
Shazia