Hoarding

Hoarders and Buried Alive are television programs that show extreme examples of hoarding. People with stacks of papers, clothes, magazines and all sorts of things. They literally have rooms they can't even enter because of all of their stuff. A lot of the time, these people are suffering from some sort of psychological disorder. While most of us shutter at the thought of living like hoarders, sometimes we too suffer from a more subtle version of hoarding.

I've worked with people who hoard their information. They call it job security. They feel as if they share what they know, they are more likely to lose their jobs. I've seen projects suffer and work grind to a halt because the information hoarder is on vacation or out on temporary disability. Yet, at the same time, I have seen these very people suffer from the very fate they fear. I've seen them lose their jobs.

I've also seen others who hoard their love and affection, afraid that if they show how they really feel, the other person will take them for granted or abuse their affections. They hold on to their feeling so tightly that the other person leaves anyway. 

 Physical hoarders are drowning in a sea of stuff. They fear losing even the smallest item, so they hold on tightly ... so tightly that they miss out on just about everything else. Information and love holders hold on so tightly that often their fears become their realities.

The truth of the matter is that holding on to what you know doesn't ensure your future, often times, it jeopardizes it. Holding on to your love almost guarantees that you'll lose the one you love. 

Instead of operating out of fear, take the brave step of sharing and letting go a bit. The results could be surprising.