Prioritizing the feeling of 'favorites'

The other day, I forgot where I encountered this information, but I heard a story like this.

It was that 'rather than spending money on things for vanity, status, or to be envied by others, you will be happier if you buy "functional things," that is, things that are actually useful in your daily life.'

When I heard that, while I was convinced that 'that makes sense,' I felt a slight sense of discomfort with the word 'functional' used there.

Even if something is not particularly superior in terms of function, I feel that things I feel attached to, or my 'favorites,' greatly improve the quality of my life.

Today, using that question as a starting point, I would like to deepen my thoughts on the concept of 'favorites.'

What is important is not 'functional' but 'practical'

First, as I pondered the discomfort I mentioned earlier, I arrived at the difference between 'functional' and 'practical.'

I thought that the true nature of the discomfort I felt might lie precisely in this difference.

In other words, things that improve the quality of our lives do not necessarily have to be 'functional things'; they just need to be 'practical things.'

I wanted to make sure to grasp this as a clear distinction first.

Interpreting 'practical' in a broad sense

Once you grasp this difference, you can see a different perspective.

By focusing on the point of 'fitting into and contributing to life,' it seems fine to interpret 'practical' in a broader sense.

For example, it could even be something that creates extra work. It could even just be an object.

Even so, isn't there value in things whose existence supports you?

Just using them makes you feel good, and just looking at them brightens your mood.

Couldn't such 'favorites' of yours also be included in 'practical' in a broad sense?

Because, after all, they are certainly useful to you.

If there is a benefit to be found there, even just looking at it is already a form of utility.

The benefits of living surrounded by 'favorites'

Now, while pondering such thoughts, I suddenly remembered a book I read a long time ago called 'The More of Less'.

Simply put, it might be a book about minimalism, but I am not a minimalist, nor am I aiming to become one.

The more core message I received from that book was not about reducing possessions, but about 'the wonder of living surrounded by things you love'.

For example, take the simple daily act of drinking a beverage.

When you drink from your favorite cup, your mood lifts just a little bit.

On the other hand, using a cup that you think, 'It's dirty and I don't like it...', chips away at your spirit a little bit every time.

Also, to use an easy-to-understand example, there is 'clothing'.

Whether the clothes you wear every day are your favorites affects your mood more than you might imagine.

Every time you put them on, you feel, 'I really love this. This is great.' By doing so, you are constantly giving your mood a buff.

On the other hand, clothes you wear without feeling quite right—if they are neutral, that is fine, but they can even become a mood debuff.

And those kinds of feelings accumulate day by day, gradually affecting our mood and emotions.

I feel once again that, from a practical standpoint, whether something is a 'favorite' is more important than one might think.

'Favorites' tend to be put on the back burner

Although 'favorites' are such an important feeling, I think they tend to be put on the back burner.

Choosing items requires balance. You are exposed to various constraints such as price, functionality, harmony with other belongings, or social appropriateness.

In such situations, elements like 'whether it is a favorite' or 'whether it feels right' are often given low priority.

This is because even if you compromise on design or personal preference, no direct 'actual harm' occurs.

If a function is missing and you cannot manage your housework, or if it puts a strain on your household budget, 'actual harm' occurs, so you have no choice but to deal with it.

However, you can still go about your daily life even if you ignore whether something feels right for you.

And I feel that if you are not conscious of it, that sense gradually becomes duller.

In a flood of information, the sense of what you 'love' becomes paralyzed

Another aspect is the influence of the vast amount of information from marketing, social media, and the media.

Messages exist for everything, claiming 'This is the right answer!' or 'This is the best!'

Simple, sophisticated rooms without color that flow through your timeline and advertisements.

As I encounter such information, I feel that my own sense of whether something is a 'favorite' gradually becomes paralyzed.

It becomes the norm to choose simple and stylish things over colorful and cluttered ones.

Ignoring your own feelings becomes a habit, and you even forget that you are suppressing the feeling that 'I actually like colorful and flashy things.'

I feel that modern information society has at least some influence like that.

Sharpening the sense of what you 'love' and trying to prioritize it

Recently, as I have been going through many difficult things personally, I have been thinking about wanting to increase even small happiness and self-care.

It was in that process that I realized this story about 'favorites.'

I usually wear simple clothes, but when I faced myself, I recently realized that I originally like flashy things.

What I am drawn to are things that are colorful and have hues, and things with patterns rather than solid colors.

When you sharpen your senses, your true preferences become visible.

What I feel I 'succeeded' at by following that sense is the wallpaper in my home office.

When I built my house, I was able to choose only based on my own preferences for the home office because it wouldn't bother anyone else.

What I chose there was wallpaper printed with botanical specimens, created in collaboration with the National Museum of Nature and Science.

As you can see, it's a flashy wallpaper that takes a bit of courage to adopt. However, I really like it.

In terms of functionality, this is no different from a plain white wallpaper, but for me, it is extremely practical.

Just sitting in my seat in my home office and looking at this wallpaper makes me feel good.

In that one aspect of 'being able to face work in a good mood,' it is highly useful and practical.

I want to live surrounded by more of my 'favorites'!

This time, using the discomfort I felt toward the advice that 'it's good to spend money on functional things' as a starting point, I wrote about the difference between functional and practical, and about the feeling of 'favorites,' which might be more important than functionality.

I think I had been unconsciously putting this aside, and my own senses had become numb.

From now on, I have decided to value not just what others might think or whether something is functionally superior, but also the feeling of 'whether I like it myself' when choosing things.

(For example, I'm thinking I'd like to buy a flashy T-shirt.)

If you read this article and thought, 'I tend to forget that feeling too,' please try to remember it the next time you have the opportunity to choose something.

Your daily mood might just lift a little bit.

P.S.

I previously wrote an article about not just dismissing daily tasks (operations) as 'troublesome,' but facing them, refining them, and elevating them into important rituals for myself.

This article is about 'favorites' regarding 'things,' while that article was about 'favorites' regarding 'actions.'

And they are not independent; they are likely closely intertwined.

After all, there is an aspect where things determine operations.

Taking all of that into account, I hope to pursue a life of my own 'favorites.'

Though I won't be pursuing it too stoically, haha.