How to Avoid Materialistic Life?

 

How to Avoid Materialistic Life?

Have you ever heard from your parents or grandparents how happy and content they have been all their life? The mere thought of being happy and content drives our curiosity to know what our forefathers had in their life that led to it that we don’t possess. In today’s blog, we shall come one step closer to realizing that materialism does not lead to consistent happiness. The lesser materials we possess, the better off we are in our lives. Less equals more ( < = >)

Today we may be the most comfortable generation ever, but this level of comfort and convenience has led to its own set of challenges as well. Depression, anxiety, unhappiness, substance abuse is a few of them to begin with. Technology and our dependency on it have greatly increased in the last decade. This has somehow led us to become more customer centric. We are no more the usual people, but we are termed as CONSUMERS.

Almost every day we are bombarded with text messages, notifications, emails, newsletters etc. making us feel the need to buy more. It has become the norm that the more you have the happier you are going to be at the end of the day. In the earlier days, the progress of a nation depended on other factors, but today it’s about the economy. The economy is the only one thing that is currently driving nations to be the next super power. It’s all about the money. We have always been told the more you earn, the more you will be happy and satisfied with life.

Research on the other hand has been completely contradicting this fact. It’s proved the more people chase money and possessions, the less meaningful their life turns out to be towards the end. We cannot deny the fact that this can come at a high price for the human race and the planet. Clearly if we wish to have a happier, more social, more ecologically sustainable world then we need to reduce the impact of materialism in our lives. In order to achieve this, we first need to understand what gravitates people to be more materialistic. 

Below are the two most important reasons that I personally feel that contributes to this feeling of wanting more:

• Editing Extrinsic Values:

Scientists have confirmed that in the current generation more people are absorbing social media which is leading to more materialistic values in their lifestyle. There is so much information out there today that it’s normal for us humans to get involved and give into the glamorous advertisements and land up buying something to make ourselves happy and content. Our every search, every click, every purchase online is meticulously recorded and monitored online to ensure you come back for more. This not only leads us to buying more stuff but we also end up ignoring the most important values of life.

• Prioritizing Intrinsic Values:

Spending quality time with friends and family has now become a rarity. Even though we are surrounded by people around us in the same room, we are still glued to our phones for attention. Research has proven data to show that our health and our well being is better when there is more interaction with humans and nature as compared to digital interaction. Countries like France and Bhutan focus on such intrinsic values as compared to the GDP of the country.

The human race has been structured to live together in communities and being social is considered to be a prime aspect of human life. Before the invention of computers and mobile phones, we used to indulge ourselves in physical activities and mental well being. People used to live together and take responsibility of their actions.  They always had each other’s back. For E.g. The noble price was given to those who had contributed to the greater good of the society. These individuals sacrificed their lives for the growth of others. Today we are handed over bonuses in our hands in corporate offices for sacrificing our own time and effort for ourselves. There is hardly any contribution to the society and the environment around us. This has greatly led to personal goals that eventually affect our values and we thus isolate ourselves from others to live a life without the greater good.

The moral of the story is that “Less Is More”. Owning less stuff not only gives us time to indulge with self-defining activities but also leads to less stress as well as financial freedom. We need to understand that no matter how hard we work or earn throughout our life; we cannot own everything. The least we can do is experience life in a more meaningful way. Making room for the good stuff by getting rid of the material stuff is the best way of doing it. Do let us know if you wish to move to a sustainable life? Your thoughts and opinions are more than welcome. 

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Written by Jaison Noronha
Idea Source : Personal Experiences