The Ultimate guide to Getting over depression, mood swings & bad moods Based on psychology
Do you measure success by the quality and price of the material goods that you can afford to buy and by the size of your salary?
Is one of your aims to earn as much as possible so that you can easily buy whatever luxuries you want? We all have that special thing that we can spend all our money on if we win the lottery. It can be books, clothes, electronics, cars or any other material goods.
We feel efficient and complete when we find that we can afford a luxury item and this encourages us to work harder in order to be able to buy more and always feel good about
ourselves.
If we do this, money becomes the chief focus of our lives. Material becomes an addiction to the extent that buying things becomes not a means but an end in itself. In this case, it’s not about having something. It’s about having more and more. (see also Shopping addiction treatment)
To some people luxuries are necessities. They make them look good and appearances are one of their most important considerations. They think that material possessions can make them overlook the faults in their self-image.
Materialism is partly a reaction to inner dissatisfaction. In the Solid Self confidence program I said that some people look to external things to relieve themselves from whatever is bothering them within themselves.
Buying expensive things helps them keep the illusion that they are really superior in economic terms to others and thus helps them get rid of whatever doubts they have about themselves in other areas of life.
They think that these material possessions protect them from subconscious depression, anxiety, guilt or shame which are caused by a belief that deep down, beneath all the flashy possessions, they may not be so good or successful after all.
Materialism draws their attention away from whatever they hate to think about and directs it towards the thrill of buying something new and the ego-boosting thrill of owning it afterwards. And they use that kind of forgetfulness to try to compensate for the unhappiness inside them.
If you think that we live only to earn a lot of money to be able to buy and enjoy luxuries, take a look at what President Jose Mujica has to say.
Jose Mujica, President of Uruguay since 2010, did not want the presidential house and continued to live in a modest farm house in a rural area just next to two small farmers.
He also donates 90% of his 12,000$ monthly salary to the poor and to small scale entrepreneurs and lives on 800$ only per month like an average citizen.
In his latest official declaration of wealth he says he owns just two vehicles, a small amount of property and his farm house.
President Mujica’s definition of wealth is always wanting more, “No, I’m not a poor president. Poor people are those who want more and more, those who never have enough of anything. Those are poor because they are in a never ending cycle of working to buy more and more. I choose this simple lifestyle.
I choose not to have too many belongings so that I have time to live how I want to live.” President Mujica believes that mass consumption would only lead to an economic crisis.
The answer is, depending on your unmet needs. If your only unmet need is to become rich then certainly money can buy you happiness but if you are pursuing money to get over some other unmet needs then money won’t help that much. (see also Unmet needs psychology)
The media calls Mujica the poorest president in the world but he is actually rich because self-love and satisfaction are his most valued possessions and thus he doesn’t seek compensation in material things. (see also How our needs motivate us)
Some people can buy all the luxuries they want and still be emotionally bankrupt. These are the poorest of all. Using money to boost your self-esteem works only for a very short period of time if your real unmet need wasn’t for money.
No matter how much you buy to make it last, you will find yourself always desiring new things if you don’t deal with the negative feelings that make you materialistic.
It is said that “you never have enough of what you don’t really want.” You will never be satisfied if you keep buying things to escape from your problems. Your heart’s desire is not luxurious material possessions but rather self-acceptance and peace of mind.
2knowmyself is not a complicated medical website nor a boring online encyclopedia but rather a place where you will find simple, to the point and effective information that is backed by psychology and presented in a simple way that you can understand and apply. If you think that this is some kind of marketing hype then see what other visitors say about 2knowmyself.
The Solid confidence program was launched by 2knowmyself.com; the program will either help you become more confident or give you your money back.
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