Being happy with less

Sam Leader Last week, Robert told you about his past as a second hand car salesman. I'd like to add that he recently had cause to dust off the patter when he sold his one-careful-owner family wagon… to me.

Let me tell you, we are loving it. It's such a grown up car and beats our old one hands down on every front. I'm no petrol head but quickly came to appreciate the smooth and secure driving experience that the 'new' car offered.

I've noticed, though, that my love for the new has come at the expense of my feelings for the old. In fact, I have started to dislike our past car intensely.

This kind of response really surprised me as I’ve always thought of myself as a bit of a grateful for what I've got type, yet here I was reacting like a textbook consumer!

According to economist Clive Hamilton, consumers are keen to keep buying as they're constantly insecure about the quality of goods they own. My willingness to suddenly see 'faults' in the old car that hadn't existed for me previously seems consistent with this.

Perhaps I’ve got what Hamilton describes as a 'growth fetish' or 'affluenza'. Most Australians are susceptible, apparently. We are unable to distinguish need from wants, are constantly seeking validation through what we own and are prepared to get into huge debt to service our addiction.

I'd like to think I'm not too badly infected, though, because I've started to feel genuine affection for the old car again. I just focus on its positive attributes and refuse to compare it with the new one.

Too much comparing can have a corrupting effect, I've decided: it brings out the brat in us. Or me at least. That said, I can appreciate that progress is as important, arguably more so, than prudence.

Is it best to be happy with less? Or is it okay to aspire?

Let us know what you think.

Until next week.

Love your work,

Sam Leader is a director of Flying Solo and its editor. She is the co-author of Flying Solo - How to go it alone in business.

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Im a big fan of being happy with less, yes its fine to aspire but not to become upset if the aspirations don't come to fruit, so to speak. Bjarni Wark : Bj2design from Batemans Bay
I too am guilty of this addiction, or the 'lie about happiness'. The 'lie' being that the more we have the happier we will be when the 'truth' is, so long as we have the basic needs of life (food and shelter), then we are just as happy. Accom Finance from SYdney
Less goods, more joy.
Aspire to delight not shoring up your ego with stuff. Evan Hadkins from Sydney, Australia
I think to be an aspiring entrepreneur or greater things you learn the value of having less things, the super rich buy things, but they in most cases by things that last.. so that it can be handed down to family, same principle. If you have less then you have less expenditure, meaning should anything happens, there is not a great cost involved darrell Dower from brisbane
this is biblical--how far we have got from God's wisdom for us?
need or want -a little wisdom --if it costs more than $100 wait 24hours you will be surprised what 24 hours makes to your desire.
this may be a sweeping generalization but I think this desire to own things is a reason behind many family arguments, both parents working too hard and too long.
My husband and I own a small business --I long ago had to decide between want and need Carole McIntosh from Barrington NSW
I struggle with the very essence of the word less...
less than what? Society's constant comparisons and polarities create vacuums. Aspiring on the other hand holds a very different notion perhaps. For me it translates into optimising what we have, creating greater pleasure, quality perhaps, not just shoring up our ego through the overt display of perceived 'success' icons.
On one hand striving/aspiring to experience driving a safe, comfortable, state of the art car is a joy indeed, one which we may wish to aspire toward. Conversely, if this desire leads us to experience a sense of lack, then I think we need to look a little closer at our motivational trigger...
Let's ensure we honour our individuality, get excited by the possibilities and grateful for who we are rather than mere by what we have. Dianne from Melbourne

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