Marie Kondo, armed with her signature KonMari method, has successfully solved the problem of tidying up by tackling its foundation: our mindset. The 4’7” petite organizing consultant has a precise understanding of the underlying habit loop, the simplest form of which Aristotle preached— “Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” Her clear understanding and manipulation of the habit loop has allowed her clients to only keep material goods and habits that spark joy.
Habits emerge in an attempt for the brain to save effort, but we can only rebuild our habits to our liking when we can understand how to break them into parts; as defined by Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit, the loop consists of three parts:
Duhigg explains the reward of the Pepsodent toothpaste, which was the reason the toothpaste had a great influx of sales from its advertisements. Claude Hopkins, the man who advertised Pepsodent, fostered a habit of brushing by creating a craving of cleanliness that propelled the habit loop (Duhigg 57). Essentially, habit loops become more automatic over time and cultivate a neurological need, which can be set off by a simple trigger that “drives the loop” at times when the cue itself isn’t enough (Duhigg 49). For Pepsodent, the craving was the minty sensation that people equated with cleanliness. Once habits are formed, they never disappear, which is why relapse is common. Duhigg notes that “habits emerge without our permission,” which contradicts Kondo’s 0% relapse rate claim (Duhigg 26). The key part of the KonMari method which prevents relapse, however, is the clarity her method brings—a concrete reward and a profound vision—that will, consequently, affect your mindset and discourage aversions to relapse that cannot be avoided with gradual tidying (Kondo 34).
By encouraging quality, rather than quantity, to be the deciding factor of purchases, Kondo has challenged the previous notion of a disposable income. Her philosophical approach to tidying up allows us to explore ourselves and the world and return to a time focused on the utility of objects—the prime root of craftsmanship is, after all, making something that can be utilized. The purpose of philosophy is to recalibrate our minds, and through Kondo’s method, we are inherently forced to re-examine our lives through our belongings and revisit why we own what we own. We tend to consume without processing—we have brand loyalties and desire the most relevant items in the market without knowing why. Kondo addresses this addiction by introducing the concept of reflecting on what has a true purpose, a process people usually undertake only after a significant event, such as a divorce, death, or new year. At first, we must react by piling all of our clothes or sentimental items together without thinking that action through, just like the initial purchase. We are then, however, focused on questioning whether something will spark joy for us every time we shop—consequently engendering a proactive, rather than reactive, culture regarding how we should manage our life and our purpose.
Kondo wisely focuses on gain, rather than loss. She advises us to “choose what [you] want to keep, not what [you] want to get rid of” (Kondo 41). The reason why so many diets are unsuccessful is because they are short-term, unsustainable affairs that revolve around the concept of loss. People start exercising and dieting because they want to lose weight. We are hardwired, however, to survive and gain rather than shed; the KonMari method is more about passing things off, thanking our belongings, and recognizing when our belongings have run their course. Kondo allows us to gain, whether it’s gaining momentum, clarity, order, or purpose—and it is up to us whether we want to make this change.
About the Author
Alison Chan is a freshman at Harvard College concentrating in Neuroscience.
References
Duhigg, C. (2014). The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Random House Trade Paperbacks.
Kondo, M. (2014). The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Ten Speed Press.
Habits emerge in an attempt for the brain to save effort, but we can only rebuild our habits to our liking when we can understand how to break them into parts; as defined by Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit, the loop consists of three parts:
- The Cue serves as a hint for the brain to determine which pattern to use and is typically a visual trigger, certain time of day, or emotion. The KonMari method concentrates on the emotion that people have when they see clutter in their lives (e.g. a sense of unease, stress, or anxiety) (Duhigg 41).
- The Routine can be physical, mental, and/or emotional. In this case, the keeping-what-sparks-joy routine is both mental and emotional, which is a principal distinction between the KonMari method (and its underlying habit loop) and other techniques. Kondo followed Duhigg’s “Golden Rule of Habit Change,” as she didn’t eliminate the ineffective cleaning habits; rather, she completely reformulated them and achieved something even brain surgery cannot address—shutting down old cues and cravings in the basal ganglia that are waiting to relapse (Duhigg 63, 77).
- The Reward is, arguably, the most important part of the habit loops, as it helps the brain determine whether the loop is worth remembering (Duhigg 49). The KonMari method yields immediate results in other aspects of life (such as in health, school, job, or perspective) as its reward, which increases one’s will to continue integrating the method into one’s life and preventing relapse.
Duhigg explains the reward of the Pepsodent toothpaste, which was the reason the toothpaste had a great influx of sales from its advertisements. Claude Hopkins, the man who advertised Pepsodent, fostered a habit of brushing by creating a craving of cleanliness that propelled the habit loop (Duhigg 57). Essentially, habit loops become more automatic over time and cultivate a neurological need, which can be set off by a simple trigger that “drives the loop” at times when the cue itself isn’t enough (Duhigg 49). For Pepsodent, the craving was the minty sensation that people equated with cleanliness. Once habits are formed, they never disappear, which is why relapse is common. Duhigg notes that “habits emerge without our permission,” which contradicts Kondo’s 0% relapse rate claim (Duhigg 26). The key part of the KonMari method which prevents relapse, however, is the clarity her method brings—a concrete reward and a profound vision—that will, consequently, affect your mindset and discourage aversions to relapse that cannot be avoided with gradual tidying (Kondo 34).
By encouraging quality, rather than quantity, to be the deciding factor of purchases, Kondo has challenged the previous notion of a disposable income. Her philosophical approach to tidying up allows us to explore ourselves and the world and return to a time focused on the utility of objects—the prime root of craftsmanship is, after all, making something that can be utilized. The purpose of philosophy is to recalibrate our minds, and through Kondo’s method, we are inherently forced to re-examine our lives through our belongings and revisit why we own what we own. We tend to consume without processing—we have brand loyalties and desire the most relevant items in the market without knowing why. Kondo addresses this addiction by introducing the concept of reflecting on what has a true purpose, a process people usually undertake only after a significant event, such as a divorce, death, or new year. At first, we must react by piling all of our clothes or sentimental items together without thinking that action through, just like the initial purchase. We are then, however, focused on questioning whether something will spark joy for us every time we shop—consequently engendering a proactive, rather than reactive, culture regarding how we should manage our life and our purpose.
Kondo wisely focuses on gain, rather than loss. She advises us to “choose what [you] want to keep, not what [you] want to get rid of” (Kondo 41). The reason why so many diets are unsuccessful is because they are short-term, unsustainable affairs that revolve around the concept of loss. People start exercising and dieting because they want to lose weight. We are hardwired, however, to survive and gain rather than shed; the KonMari method is more about passing things off, thanking our belongings, and recognizing when our belongings have run their course. Kondo allows us to gain, whether it’s gaining momentum, clarity, order, or purpose—and it is up to us whether we want to make this change.
About the Author
Alison Chan is a freshman at Harvard College concentrating in Neuroscience.
References
Duhigg, C. (2014). The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Random House Trade Paperbacks.
Kondo, M. (2014). The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Ten Speed Press.