How much is Enough?

In the world today, we are being brainwashed to think that we should have more and more. We should have more things, more money, more social media likes, more food, more gadgets, more of everything.

Success in life is often judged by external indicators like luxury items, popularity, salary, or status items. But, in reality, these external indicators are actually poor guideposts because they are not the real indicator of true wealth, contentment or positive lifestyles. The reality behind the shiny facade is often debt, money worries, stress, poor health, and dysfunctional relationships.

Understanding the reality, we need to reject this acquisition mindset and the consumerism that everyone is being caught up in. Thus, in order to restore balance as we pull back from our lifestyles of excess, we should strive for a more moderate lifestyle and care less about what other people think about us. With this, we may experience greater fulfillment and happiness.

Never enough

The problem with the current society is what we have is never enough. We would want more of everything. Collectively we are better off and have more than any generation before us, but it still isn’t enough. Even when we have everything we need, we are told that we must have better, upgraded versions of our endless possessions.

The race for more is a vicious cycle. The more we buy, the higher our expenses will be. Thus we need to work harder and longer to pay for these expenses, resulting in less time to enjoy life and more stress. Then, we would spend for more goods and services to compensate and make us feel better. And the cycle repeats again and again.

Striving for a more simple life

Instead of running the never-ending race for more, it would be better for us to strive for a more simple and moderate life. 

Life is not about how fast you get to the end. Rather, it is a marathon that we would take time to enjoy the scenery and companionship of your family and friends.

By understanding that more does not mean better is one of the first steps. There are many times that when we take things easy, we would be much happier.

Take a step back and stop everything that you are striving for. Take your time to look into all these goals and activities. Do you really need them or it is just a wants? Would it really make you happier? Does it improve your life by a large margin? Is there something similar that can give you just as much happiness?

Take an example of myself. My dream car when I was young was actually a Honda Civic. But the cost of buying that new car then was about RM 100,000 which is an exorbitant amount of money that I could not afford. So, instead of working endlessly to pay for the installments, I look into other alternatives that are more affordable. In the end, I bought a new 2003 Perodua Kelisa (which I still own until today). This Kelisa is still as good as it used to be and even until now, I am happy with it and have no thought of selling it, even if the one buyer is willing to pay double or triple the current price.

This article is first published in Radical Ringgit.