Last week a friend suggested I should get myself a paddle board. Why on earth would I spend €250 on a board, worry about where I’m going to store it, transport it, and fix it when it’s broken? I can just hire one for €15 at the local surf store. Use it, return it. All the fun, none of the pain.

I think about most things like this.

Somewhere along my journey, I realised that the more stuff I own, the more it owns me. So 5 years ago, I sold everything, moved to Barcelona with 3 suitcases, and ever since I’ve tried to own as little as possible.

I love it. I don’t have much to worry about, and I have a free mind to do the things that are important to me.

Then a month ago, I exited an investment. The money landed in my bank account, and I thought it would be pretty sad if I didn’t go out and buy something. You know, to celebrate.

Problem was, I couldn’t think of anything I wanted. So I asked Claude. It suggested watches, gadgets, sneakers, whisky. The usual. None of it excited me.

So I made a list of all the things I own and really like:

1. Bobby my dog (not a thing, but my number one thing for sure)
2. Ice bath
3. Apple Watch
4. iPad
5. Alexa devices in the house
6. Coffee machine
7. My bicycle
8. Art and Buddha statues in the house
9. Nice bedding
10. Nutribullet

Nothing on there is flashy. It’s all stuff that quietly makes every day a bit better. So I went looking for one more thing in that category. My friends had been nagging me about my tap water for years, so I ended up ordering a new countertop water machine.

But the package got stuck somewhere. I had to call multiple people to resolve it, and 4 weeks later it finally got delivered.

Then I realised I’ll need to clean it every second day, and it has a filter that needs replacing.

Probably not a lot. But add another item like a water machine every 2 weeks and you soon spend your entire life chasing packages and replacing filters.

I prefer it simple.

What’s your favourite possession?