I used to save nice things for special occasions. Now I wear them to the grocery store.

"I used to save my favorite clothes for a version of my life that never showed up. The blazer stayed in my closet because it felt "too professional" for a normal day. The heels were waiting for a dinner I'd yet to be invited to. The earrings were longing for an occasion that felt important enough to justify wearing them. Meanwhile, I wore the same outfits on repeat - to work, to run errands, to all the places where my actual life was happening."

"This habit wasn't limited to clothes. I treated everything the same way. A Sephora gift card sat untouched in my drawer, waiting for something "really worth it." I rationed my favorite lip gloss as if it were a limited resource. I refused to light my favorite candle unless the night felt special enough to deserve it. I even held onto the last spritz of my discontinued One Direction perfume for years, as if saving it could somehow make more."

"The special occasion is always vague - an imaginary fancy dinner, a future milestone, a celebration that exists only in theory. So I wait. Years pass. The things I loved enough to save start to feel untouchable. By the time I consider using it, we've waited so long that it feels wrong to start now. Looking back, it sounds dramatic, but at the time, it felt practical. Why waste something nice on an ordinary day?"

Favorite clothes and items were reserved for an imagined perfect future, so everyday life went unadorned. A blazer stayed in the closet for being "too professional," heels waited for an invitation, and jewelry waited for an important occasion. Beauty products, candles, and a discontinued perfume were hoarded for vague milestones. The special occasion was a nebulous future event, causing years of waiting until items felt untouchable. Practicality rationalized the restraint as avoiding waste on ordinary days. The waiting habit expanded to postponing fun and happiness, turning daily life into a holding pattern and prompting a realization to start using cherished things now.

Read at Business Insider