People collect things. Bottle caps, salt and pepper shakers, teapots, old tools, books, unicorns, stuffed pigs, and just about anything else you can imagine. They say the Smithsonian is America's Attic because it's the largest collection of "stuff" that represents who we are. And so, naturally, it's on display.

But the Smithsonian is more like an attic than most people know. They have so much stuff that they cannot possibly put it all on display at once. So they have vast storage areas -- like attics -- that house the items that are not on display.

One of the best ways to clear out your stuff is to move to a new house or apartment. If you have stuff that's been in a box since you moved into your house, and you've never opened it, then it's a good candidate for Goodwill! So we have yard sales and garage sales and unceremonious trips to the Salvation Army.

And this happens naturally because we all change. We become new people as we move through life. We acquire new experiences, new surroundings, and new "stuff." So, perhaps, the person who bought the teapots, old tools, books, and unicorns has moved on to new interests. Once treasured items are now just more stuff.

Some of these old items you'll keep forever. Other items are truly just in the way.

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Do you know what a weed is?

A weed is a plant you don't want.

One of my neighbors plants morning glories. In my yard, morning glories are weeds.

The previous owners planted mint. In my yard, mint is a weed.

Here's an interesting article on weeds in New Zealand. The best line in the article is: "Most weeds are simply exotic plants brought into New Zealand to pretty up the garden."

That's the way it goes. We bring things into our lives. We collect flowers and teapots and stuff. But yesterday's treasure is today's junk. And yesterday's flowers are today's weeds.

The same is true in your personal life. We collect habits and people. But over time our enjoyable behavior has become an impediment to our success. People who were fun five years ago are now keeping us from doing what we should be doing.

No one minds the advice to change your habits. That's where all the real progress in life takes place. But it sounds callous to advise people to change their friends and associates. It's not really as bad as it sounds.

As a parent, I want my daughter to choose the "right" friends. I don't want her to acquire the habits of certain people. All people have a bit of chameleon in them. So I want her to hang out with good role models. Plus, some people just distract from the things you should be doing.

So why is this advice good for my daughter and not good for me?

From time to time we need to evaluate how we spend our time and who we spend it with. One of the greatest compliments I ever received was when someone said to me "Of all the people asking for some of my time, you're the one I should be spending more time with."

So I guess there's two sides to this. First, are you spending time with people who help move you in the right direction? And, second, are you the kind of person who helps other people move in the right direction?

Not to put too fine a point on it, but would you keep you around if you were weeding your personal garden?