Things That Make You Go ‘Eugh’

On lumpy duvets, and being dragged down by the little things

I was listening to a new podcast the other day called the JFDI podcast. I’d been recommended a particular episode by a friend, called ‘How to get your Mojo Back’. I wasn’t really feeling like I’d lost it, but I’ve been pretty rubbish keeping fit the last few weeks (read: very rubbish), so I thought maybe there’d be some tips around getting back into the swing of things, so I hauled myself out my flat, went a run and zoned in.

Oh wow, it did not disappoint!

I’m not going to recap the entire episode (as you can actually just read the recap from Millzfdi, the guy who makes it, here), but I do want to talk about one of the things he mentioned which really resonated, and has — literally within the 5 days since listening to it — made a huge difference in my life.

Mills talks about this coffee cup he has, which he loves. He talks about how sometimes he’ll wake up in the morning and said coffee cup in still in the dishwasher, so he can’t use it. Of course, not being able to use your favourite coffee cup is such a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things, but he acknowledged that — if he’s being honest with himself — it pisses him off at the start of the day.

So he bought another.

It got me thinking: what little things make me feel momentarily frustrated and annoyed, despite really not being a big deal? What little things result in me audibly, or in my head, saying ‘eugh’? What little things add up to make me feel negative, for no good reason at all?

And crucially, how easy is it to fix them?

I then went on a mission to buy a load of new clothes online (for the last 4 months, I’ve opened my wardrobe every day and thought ‘eugh, I’ve nothing to wear’, because at the end of last year I spent 4 hours one evening throwing a load of stuff out and then subsequently failed miserably to make time to replace it all because I’ve been overthinking how I should reinvent my ‘look’ and become a respectable human being).

I ordered 2 pairs of the exact same pair of jeans I already own (I only have one pair, so when they are drying after being washed, I have to wear uncomfortable trousers or leggings as I’ve not made the time to go get more, and have been putting it off, thinking I should ‘branch out’ and try different types and be fashionable and a respectable human being).

I bought a new fancy pillow and duvet (the ones I previously had were literally LUMPY and totally uncomfortable and every time I went to bed I would think ‘eugh this bed is so uncomfortable why is this duvet lumpy I should really get a new duvet one day like a respectable human being’).

Now — I’m sure you’ll read this and think:

1. Gemma you are literally a joke, why have you only had one pair of jeans for 4 months?!
2. It’s really not hard to buy new clothes, you can get one day delivery for crying out loud.
3. Obviously a fancy new pillow is better than a lumpy one.
4. None of those things are remotely important in the grand scheme of things.

And you’d be right — except for the last one. Those things are important because they were totally filling up my mind with ‘eughs’ every single day. Those things are important as they are at the root of more important elements of my life — sleeping and clothing myself effectively. Those things are important as, frankly, life (and happiness) doesn’t always have to be a huge achievement, it can simply be having a nicer pillow to put your head on, or having a clean pair of jeans that fit every day.

And oh my god none of them were remotely difficult to sort.

I get totally caught up with feeling like I always have to be doing important things — my work, seeing friends, improving my fitness, eating well, learning some kind of new complicated skill — and I neglect the little things that I don’t even realise are adversely affecting my mood and productivity. I don’t like to spend time ‘on the little things’ as it feels like a waste of time.

I never thought a pillow, some jeans and a new t-shirt would have such an impact on my life, but I have literally not stopped enjoying the fact that they are now in my life for 5 days. FIVE DAYS OF JOY OVER A PILLOW WTAF.

And — even more important — I have 3 less ‘eugh’s plaguing my day with pointless negativity. Win.

Say no to lumpy duvets