Alright, that isn't as easy as it sounds. Humans are habit-forming creatures and collecting junk we don't need is something Americans are extremely good at. In fact, we are conditioned to believe that more is better. Bigger is better. With all due respect to my friends from Texas, bigger isn't necessarily better and acquiring mass quantities of possessions certainly makes very little sense.
A bigger house means a bigger mortgage payment, more lawn to mow, more walls to paint, more carpet to lay, etc. More expensive cars mean higher insurance premiums, worse gas mileage and more expensive maintenance costs. I'm not saying we shouldn't want nice things. I am saying there comes a point where having things is exorbitant.
My bigger concern does not involve cars or houses--I use those as an example because everyone needs a place to live and most of us need a car to get around. What we don't need are trinkets! Hell. Trinkets make my skin crawl! Trinkets are like junk food--they serve little purpose, are addictive and weigh us down physically, financially and emotionally!
Here's my philosophy: The best things in life come from our experiences. The cruise to Jamaica is a good purchase. The "Jah Man" t-shirt is totally unnecessary. In fact, behavioral scientists have shown that possessions provide little value to our overall happiness. Initially we love the things we buy, but over time, we grow accustomed to our stuff, it loses its allure and makes us feel like we need to buy bigger and more expensive stuff.
Experiences are the opposite. The passing of time allows us to reminisce about a summer backpacking trip, for example. I've never heard anyone say, "Remember when we bought that flat screen tv"?
Consumer culture isn't bad. It breeds creativity. It creates jobs. It allows us to have nice things. But the ugly side to this culture is that it teaches us that we can never have enough. Marketers dupe us into believing that we are Un-American and socially unacceptable if we don't strive to have the latest and greatest junk. The result of our overindulgence is getting trapped by our possessions. Affluenza prevents us from truly experiencing life, making new friends, traveling to exotic places and learning about our world.
The prevalent mindset nowadays is to not want to leave the house when everything you think you need is on the tv or in the fridge. If we can't find it in the house, chances are it's in the car.
Let's bring this full-circle. How on earth is it possible to truly discover one's passion, what will make us the most happy, if we fence ourselves in with too much stuff?
The Salvation Army or your favorite local charity will be more than happy to give people who have nothing your unnecessary and nice stuff.
Nice article from the Matador Network.
Awesome Presentation!
