While not particularly fond of the industrialized plastic nature of our world, there are some small pieces of pliable, synthetic polymers I love. Mostly, my American Express Gold Card. It is, afterall, gold. A bit shimmery. Sleek. And mostly, a status emblem that says, without any words, I’ve done well. I’m accomplished, in some way or another. I have means. And, if you’re really in the status-earning know, you’ll also recognize that I’m someone who can happily fork over nearly $200 in an annual fee and pay off the balance every 30 days, all while earning travel perks.

Admittedly, in writing this, I feel exposed and even ashamed. Yes, I care about appearances and earned status. And, I’m not alone. This is the world we live in. Or, rather, we choose to live in. And, if you’re considered ‘type-A’ like me, you’re particularly prone, says an Australian research study, to caring about materialistic things, like the color of your credit card. These natural, consumeristic and status-seeking tendencies can be fueled by simple insecurity. Not surprisingly, self -identity and -worth is is inherently linked to status symbols—from houses, to cars, to credit cards and jobs.

Thanks to mindfulness practices like meditation, yoga and simple self-awareness with our thoughts and emotions, we’re able, over time, to cultivate detachment from such external drivers of ‘meaning’ in our lives. This, it seems, is the path to shifting away from our consumer-centric society and the ideology that more is better and better comes in shades of gold, platinum and diamond.

We can buy our way into such status symbols, yet happiness rarely comes with the bill. Through my newly minted card-cutting experience, I can fairly say that the path to recovering from this status-seeking affliction is, quite literally, priceless.

So, if you’re feeling a need to let go and let live, just take a pair of scissors and set yourself free. This week, I did just that, cutting up the card that gave me a sense of pride and pleasure. And, while a moderately painful process of letting go—closing, in part, the door on a materialistically-accomplished version of me—it is liberating. And, it is a symbolic choice to take a breath from aligning my self-value and worth with something as meaningless as a piece of plastic and to instead appreciate the strong cup of Swedish coffee I’m sipping and this simply sweet weekend trip to Stockholm where I sit, now, as I write this. Side- by-side with my childhood best friend. The real gold in this world.