The more, the better…?

Society has led many of us to believe that the more we have, the happier we will become.  When we finally make that purchase for a new TV, a new mattress, a new pair of leather shoes, a new phone, we will be happy.  The bigger, the better.  The more, the better.  At least that’s how the advertisements and magazines portray it.  They wouldn’t dare lie to us, would they??

Bigger = better?

Many people fail to realize when we associate our happiness with material objects, we will never be satisfied.  Our thirst will never be quenched.  When we gain one more item in our possession, our goal will continuously change.  That peg that was once ten feet away will now jump to ten miles away.  We will never reach that peg.  The constantly advancing technology prevents us from fully keeping up with the latest trends.

Think about that nice sweater we bought on sale and felt happy with and proud of.  We may have felt a temporary burst of joy, but how long did that feeling last?  Before we knew it, our eyes have likely darted to another pair of jeans, and the vicious cycle of always desiring more continues.

If we associate material objects with our happiness, the moment we lose our possessions, our happiness would disappear.  Wouldn’t that be pathetic if our happiness can be taken away from us just like that?

However, if we begin to link our happiness to intangible things, like family, love, friendship, gratitude, things someone cannot take away, we would live every day with so much more joy because we can remain happy and satisfied with everything we already have at each present moment, things that are truly priceless.  We do not need to look forward to the mansion we want to buy, the lottery we hope to win, the salary we aim to earn, because we can be happy with our lives now.

“Celebrate, embrace, and appreciate everything you have and everything you are, for everything we have is temporary, and when we leave, it doesn’t matter what we had, what matters is what we gave.” – Chris Lee, author of Transform Your Life

Discover Challenge: Conventional Wisdom

Question: What is something intangible that brings you great joy?