Too Much Stuff? 6 Tips to a Happier Sustainable Life
Too Much Stuff? 6 Tips to a Happier, Sustainable Life Skip to content
Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations have an average return of 397%. For $79 (or just $1.52 per week), join more than 1 million members and don't miss their upcoming stock picks. 30 day money-back guarantee. Sign Up Now Accumulation of things for their own sake has at least three negative effects: The Measure of Success. As a society, we tend to measure people by what they have, rather than what they do. Respect is often accorded to wealth, regardless of the means used to acquire that wealth. Newspapers and magazines are saturated with photographs of young men and women with expensive cars and mansions, yet in many cases these same people have run-ins with the law and exhibit questionable social judgment.The Futile Pursuit of Happiness. The myth that possessions bring personal happiness has been perpetuated for centuries despite evidence that the opposite is likely more true. A 2011 study in The British Psychological Society suggests that while it may not be possible to buy happiness, you can buy relief from a low mood. Unfortunately, the boost is fleeting and often results in unhappiness, depression, and self-blame when the bill comes due. Like other addictions, acquiring objects can leave consumers feeling trapped in a difficult pattern that’s sometimes impossible to break. Excessive shopping or the unwillingness to discard things was formally recognized as a mental disorder – hoarding disorder – by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013.The Loss of Personal Freedom. Chuck Palahniuk, the author of “Fight Club,” expressed the outcome of excessive possessions best: “The things you own end up owning you. It’s only after you lose everything that you’re free to do anything.” Janis Joplin expressed a similar sentiment in her rendition of “Me and Bobby McGee” in 1971 when she sang, “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.”
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By Michael Lewis Date January 19, 2022FEATURED PROMOTION
Malcolm Forbes is credited with the phrase, “He who has the most toys wins the game.” According to a People magazine article written at the time of his death, his hobbies included the acquisition of wealth and “flaunting what it could buy.” His memorial service featured displays of his vast collection of art, including antique model boats, toy soldiers, and manuscripts. Forbes owned eight homes around the world including a private island, 2,200 paintings, a 151-foot yacht, and a Boeing 727. He also owned more Russian Imperial Faberge eggs than the Russian government. Since his death, Mr. Forbes’ philosophy has been attacked by both preachers and pundits, some of whom cited the Bible’s question: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”The Impact of Accumulating Stuff
Ironically, studies suggest that the pursuit of material possession makes us happier than its actual acquisition. Dr. Marsha L. Richins, a professor of marketing at the University of Missouri, says that materialistic consumers derive more pleasure from desiring products than from actually owning them. In his book “Stumbling on Happiness,” psychologist Daniel Gilbert says that satisfaction and joy from owning an object quickly wanes, an effect psychologists call habituation and economists call “declining marginal utility.”Materialism – Socially Destructive and Self-Destructive
A series of studies published in the journal Motivation and Emotion in July 2013 indicates that as people acquire more, their sense of well-being diminishes. As they acquire less, it rises. Another study published in the December 2013 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research states that materialism fosters social isolation, and vice versa. The relationship creates a vicious cycle – the more lonely you feel, the more likely you are to seek possessions, even as a greater amount of possessions crowds out your relationships.Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations have an average return of 397%. For $79 (or just $1.52 per week), join more than 1 million members and don't miss their upcoming stock picks. 30 day money-back guarantee. Sign Up Now Accumulation of things for their own sake has at least three negative effects: The Measure of Success. As a society, we tend to measure people by what they have, rather than what they do. Respect is often accorded to wealth, regardless of the means used to acquire that wealth. Newspapers and magazines are saturated with photographs of young men and women with expensive cars and mansions, yet in many cases these same people have run-ins with the law and exhibit questionable social judgment.The Futile Pursuit of Happiness. The myth that possessions bring personal happiness has been perpetuated for centuries despite evidence that the opposite is likely more true. A 2011 study in The British Psychological Society suggests that while it may not be possible to buy happiness, you can buy relief from a low mood. Unfortunately, the boost is fleeting and often results in unhappiness, depression, and self-blame when the bill comes due. Like other addictions, acquiring objects can leave consumers feeling trapped in a difficult pattern that’s sometimes impossible to break. Excessive shopping or the unwillingness to discard things was formally recognized as a mental disorder – hoarding disorder – by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013.The Loss of Personal Freedom. Chuck Palahniuk, the author of “Fight Club,” expressed the outcome of excessive possessions best: “The things you own end up owning you. It’s only after you lose everything that you’re free to do anything.” Janis Joplin expressed a similar sentiment in her rendition of “Me and Bobby McGee” in 1971 when she sang, “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.”