The Great Consumption

Food. Clothing. Shelter.

You need to consume stuff like this to survive. It is part of life after all. But how much should you consume? As my friend Dr. Suparno likes to say, advertisers and marketers are always trying to convince you of the importance of three words:

1. Now
2. More
3. Better

A big part of controlling runaway consumption has to do with your management and self discipline with these three dangerous words.

Now

Later stinks, especially when you want something now. Waiting has become unthinkable for us, and we become obsessed with having the latest, the most recent, the freshly released (fill in the blank).  We love now so much that we are willing to pay a premium for it. The next time something cool comes out that you must have now, try something different.

Try waiting.

Find something you really want, and force yourself to buy it later than “everybody” else. Use the money you save by not buying it at the highest price to help someone in need or save for the future. If this is hard for you, try a healthy dose of perspective. Imagine how most of the world lives on less than $2.00 a day and ask yourself if you really need it…now.

More

Contentment is a lost art. Whether it’s food, money, stuff, or the size of our houses, we all want just a little bit more. Why have less when you can “super-size” for just a little more? Tall? Why not venti? 2-bedrooms? Why not 5? There are plenty of good reasons for getting more of something; just make sure it’s not compulsive. Ask yourself: “why am I choosing to get more of this?”

Try saying no.

Dave Ramsey says it’s one of the most powerful words most of us have forgotten. Practice saying no when you are offered something extra, something additional, something more. If this doesn’t work, try living on less for a while.

Better

“Yeah, that one would work, but this one is better!” Upgrades live here. Functional isn’t enough. Who wants a cool new phone when the other guy has a better one. Better is great for a lot of things like medical technology, eco-friendliness, and education. But there comes a point when “better” simply becomes an excuse to blindly consume. Practice being satisfied even when someone else has a better version than you. If this is difficult for you try “worse”.

Go back to your old, “worse” cell phone for a while. Learn how much you’ve grown to take for granted what you already have.

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Sometimes it is important for you to pay a premium to have something now, to have more of something, or to get something better, but much of what you get now-more-better is simply to make you feel better about yourself, to prove you have more worth than others, or simply because it’s in front of you right now.

It’s easy to spend all or most of what you earn. It doesn’t take courage to do that. It’s challenging to carve wants and desires out of your habitual spending fixes and binges.

What if you were different. What if you chose to limit yourself for the sake of someone else. For the sake of the future.

What small step can you take today to reduce your consumption?

For reference, check out “The 3 Circles“.