Very often, we associate our happiness with the number of possessions we have. We see people walking with the latest iPhone in hand, wearing designer clothing, and leaning against a fancy car, and we assume that most rich people are happy. However, successful people get depressed too, all because there is more to happiness than objects. Here are 10 reasons why material things don’t make us happy.
1. Experience Is Greater
A T-shirt can only be worn several times before it gets worn out. However, the memory of something can last a lifetime. Whether it’s a nice dinner with your crush or a concert featuring your favorite band, the memory of the experience will often be more precious. Abundance is not found in material objects, but in the memories you have.
2. You’ll Crave More
The more you have, the more you’ll crave. This is why no material thing will make you truly happy. You’ll always crave more, forgetting that you already fulfilled a previous craving.
3. Not Meeting Expectations
Material things we buy may not always be what we expect. We may have bought what we thought was our dream car, but we ended up buying a lemon instead. For example, California has one of the highest number of lawsuits under the lemon law. So if you live in California and buy a new car, you might end up having to hire a California lemon attorney . Sometimes, things are not as they seem.
4. It Stresses You Out
The fewer material things you have around, the less clutter there will be – and the less stressed you’ll be. It is one of the reasons why many millennials are going minimal, all because they realized they don’t need so many things to be happy.
5. It Gives You More to Maintain
The more material things you have, the more you will have to maintain. Having multiple objects in your home means that you’ll have to spend a lot more time cleaning them – something that will not make you too happy.
6. Excitement Fades
A new thing is only new for just a moment. Eventually, the excitement will fade and you will no longer feel happy about that object you bought not a long time ago.
7. They’re Just Distractions
Very often, we buy new things simply because we are sad – but the problem is that’s exactly it. It’s a distraction, one that you’ll forget right away once you are faced again with your problem.
8. It Gives Us More to Lose
The more things we have, the more we will have to lose as well. The prospect of losing those things might actually make us more miserable, as we won’t have anything to fall back on, should disaster strike.
9. Others Will Always Have More
It’s ok to be rich, but regardless of how many material things you will have, there will always be someone else that has more than you do. Whether it’s your neighbor or a TV star, the fact is that there will always be someone living a better life than you.
10. You Rarely Use All of Them
Think of all the stuff that you own; do you use all of it? We always buy books , clothes, or movies that we seldom use. We are happy the first minute we buy them and then we forget about them.
The Bottom Line
Money and material things can’t buy your happiness . The joy of objects fades with time, the more you get used to them – all because they are not shiny or new. Instead, you may want to look at the memories you have, because that’s likely what will bring you true happiness .
Ty Collins