A friend of mine‘s parents have an old Electrolux canister vacuum. You know the kind that were real popular in the 60s. My mom had one and I used to vacuum my house with it when I was a kid. These things have a big canister on wheels in the back, a long hose, and a separate bulky attachment that you used to clean your rugs and furniture.
My buddy was in between jobs and went back home to stay with his parents for a few months. He noticed his mom vacuuming with this old contraption and realized it wasn’t working. The agitator wheel was not spinning on the carpets, and it barely had any suction.
My friend wanted to buy them a new vacuum, but unfortunately due to his current state of employment, he didn’t have any money to purchase one. I offered to buy one for him and have him give it to his parents as a gift from him, not me.
The Amazon Angels delivered the new vacuum and my buddy was elated to be able to give this to his parents. Funny thing was they didn’t use it. It was modern, it looked different, and most of all it was not what they were used to. My friend’s folks crave order, sameness, and are very rigid with their routines.
Human beings instinctively crave familiarity. So it’s not shocking that we get stuck in our ways of thinking. I can’t tell you how many times as a yoga teacher I hear, “but I’ve always done it that way and it’s never been a problem.“ Most times things are not a problem, until they’re a problem. Just because something is old, or you’ve always done it that way, does not mean that it’s the best way to do things now. Life requires constant reflection. In life, they’re often many things like this old vacuum that no longer work that we need to set aside, or put in the trash so we can open ourselves up to new and more effective ways of being.
Unfortunately, for my friend’s parents, their house is still dirty because to this day, they’re still using a vacuum that doesn’t work. They could have clean, carpets and sofas. They could work smart, not hard, with the new unit in their closet, but they’ve chosen to stick to their routine and their own private dogma.
What in your life is your canister vacuum? What are you holding onto because you’re used to it or it gives you comfort? What do you need to let go of so that you can walk more easily on your path forward? We all have things that we keep close to us because they give us some sort of familiarity. That familiarity can be a useful boundary for our psychological well-being. But when we hold on for the sake of holding on, and refuse to try something new, especially when it’s necessary, that is being stubborn, not smart, and it’s not helping our psychological well-being, it’s actually hindering it.