{"id":8140,"date":"2013-12-08T03:00:47","date_gmt":"2013-12-08T08:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theminimalists.com\/?p=8140"},"modified":"2024-06-12T20:50:22","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T01:50:22","slug":"wwjd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theminimalists.com\/wwjd\/","title":{"rendered":"WWJD: What Would Joshua Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, a friend of mine stood in her local grocer\u2019s checkout line, fumbling with her wallet\u2019s zipper, preparing to make an impulse purchase. But then, suspended in the queue, she was given time to question the item she was about to buy. She pondered the item carefully and asked herself a question: What would Joshua do?<\/em><\/p>\n

If I were there in her shoes, would I make this purchase? No<\/em>, she thought, and promptly returned the item to the shelf.<\/p>\n

When she told me about her experience, she joked she should buy one of those WWJD?<\/em> bracelets\u2014the ones so popular in the 90s\u2014to help her avoid compulsory consumption. I laughed, but then I realized I, too, could benefit from making more frequent use of this question\u2014and so could others.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t expect, or even want, anyone to walk around asking themselves, What would Joshua do?<\/em> Please don\u2019t. At least not aloud. Rather, it\u2019s a question I<\/em> should ask myself: What would the best version of me do in this situation?<\/em> Likewise, what would the best version of you do? What would Chris do? What would Katie do? What would your best self do?<\/p>\n

Would the best version of me put off writing until tomorrow? Would the best version of you sleep an extra hour and skip the gym? Would the best version of me eat the frosted donut? Would the best version of you lie<\/a> to your boss? Would the best version of me procrastinate, buy things I don\u2019t need, or ignore a friend in need?<\/p>\n

Perhaps this question, when employed habitually, can help us change our priorities<\/a>. It\u2019s certainly a question worth asking.<\/p>\n

Read this essay and 150 others in our new book, <\/strong><\/em>Essential<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, a friend of mine stood in her local grocer\u2019s checkout line, fumbling with her wallet\u2019s zipper, preparing to make an impulse purchase…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":25332,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-minimalism","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWWJD: What Would Joshua Do? - The Minimalists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theminimalists.com\/wwjd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WWJD: What Would Joshua Do? 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