Contentment is not getting what you have but being satisfied with what you have
Do you own a laptop? I have one and uses it to write on this blog and that laptop has story about contentment.
You see, when i started taking up my MBA studies, i realized that i will need to own one. My company issued me a laptop but i felt that bringing it at school will not be a good idea so i planned on purchasing my own. My criteria was simple. I need a laptop that has a word processor and powerpoint program. I googled and browsed laptops and i end up owning a macbook. I know that purchase was not well thought of. I was in Las Vegas at that time and tax rates were cheaper compared to California. I bought one for the mere reason of tax savings forgetting that my main consideration was the word processor and powerpoint program.
The story did not end there but rather begins from that purchase. You know how more expensive macbook is compared to other laptops. So along with the expensive laptop, my desire to purchase accessories followed suit. I bought a keyboard protector and a screenshield. My reasoning was since i bought an expensive laptop i might as well protect it. After buying the keyboard protector and screenshield, i realized i will need a laptop bag. So i bought one. Then when i used my macbook, i realized how good the pictures organizing program and i thought i would need a camera so that i can take pictures and maximize the laptop. Then one day, i realized i have bought too much to fulfill a single need: to have a word processor and powerpoint program.
The lesson is most often we have this want and to justify the purchase, we add our needs to this want. We add our wants to our needs to justify and make it appear that we are making a wise decision. We are never contented to what we have. Most of the time, we want this thing that we think of this thing too much. So much that it has become an internal struggle whether to purchase that item or not. Then the rationalization comes in saying that we need to purchase that item because we have been working so hard and we need to reward ourselves. Then once we get that item, we get tired. Yes, we'll be happy and satisfied days or weeks after the purchase but soon after we'll have another want to satisfy. The cycle never ends unless we decide to.
Looking back, i still have the macbook but have stopped deciding over this macbook. I no longer buy accessories. I've made a firm decision that i'll focus on my need and not on my wants. I try to observe the life of less crap less stress. If you are interested you might read this post about minimalism
