That used to be me – always wanting, never satisfied. Whenever I bought a new thing, I was thinking about the next thing I wanted. I bought a car. It felt great for a while, then I was thinking about what I want for my next car. I bought a house, then I was thinking that maybe a different house would be better. I got a new smartphone, and I felt good until the next generation phones came out.
Advertising plays a big part of this. Advertising often makes us want more and more.
Can you relate to this either now or at some point in your life?
I Want
When we live life this way, we’re always thinking and saying, “I want …” This leaves us feeling like we’re in a constant state of lack. There’s never enough. Enough is always just a little more. Everything appears to be in limited quantity. There’s not enough reliable cars for everyone. There’s not enough good smartphones. There’s a limited quantity of TVs. Buy them before they run out. And there’s definitely not enough money for everyone, so we grasp at every chance we can to get more.
What an unsatisfying way to live.
I Choose
Instead of saying “I want …”, we should say “I choose …”. I choose leads us to a very different outlook on life. Instead of being in lack, we choose what’s important to us, and we are satisfied. We want everything, but we know we can’t choose everything. So, we choose what we value, and we don’t worry about what we didn’t choose.
Now days, I still get the “I wants”, but I get them a lot less frequently than I used to. I am much more content with my life than I used to be because I choose instead of want. Often what I am choosing is not only material things. I choose family, mentorships, and to live my purpose because all these are more important than material things.
Living in a constant state of wanting can affect our ability to live our calling. At a minimum, it divides our focus, our energy, our money and our time. At worst, our wanting can take over and consume everything we do.
Leave a comment here. What’s your best advice on how to reduce the level of the “I wants”?
