How to kill a consumer: the experience of the person with the money
Bashny.Net
Graham hill lived luxuriously, but after some time realized that in fact things only absorbed his life and time.
It often happens that the passion for materialism develops in humans during periods of financial distress. But the situation improved, there is abundance, and you can already buy everything. But whether it will add happiness? The experience of people who are not limited in Finance, says "no".
Graham hill — entrepreneur, quite wealthy person, lived luxuriously, surrounded himself with a bunch of stuff that he thought needed but really only absorbed his life and time.
Sixty million one hundred seventy two thousand two hundred sixty eight
Read excerpts of his reasoning:
I live in a Studio area of 39 square meters. I sleep on a pull out bed built into the wall. I have 6 shirts. 10 dishes for salads and other dishes. When guests come to my place for dinner, I pull out a folding table. I don't have the DVD, and the current collection of books is 10% of the original.
I've come a long way since the late 90's, when a successful Internet startup turned out to me a huge flow of money. Then I bought a giant house and beat him with things, electronics, appliances, gadgets, organized my fleet.
But somehow all this stuff took my own life, well, or most of it. Things I consumed, absorbed, nearly consumed me. Yes, I have not the most common life scenario is even more strongly enriched to 30 years, but my script interaction with things — the most common.
We live in the abundance of goods in the world of hypermarkets, huge shopping centers and convenience stores. People of almost any social strata can surround yourself with things.
There was no sign indicating that the things that make us happy. In fact I see the opposite picture.
It took me 15 years to get rid of everything unimportant, that I so carefully accumulated and start to live a wider, freer, better, with less.
It all began in 1998. My partner and I sold our consulting company for a sum which I thought I did not earn in my entire life.
After receiving this amount, I bought the 4-storey building. Covered opened the opportunity to consume, I bought a brand new sectional sofa, pair of glasses for $ 300, a ton of gadgets and audiophile 5-disc CD player. And, of course, a black Volvo with remote engine start.
I started a new company, and time for the house was not left. Then I hired a guy named Seven, who, according to him, worked as an assistant to the most Courtney Love. He became my shopping. His role was to shopping, home appliances, electronics and accessories with the camera. He photographed things that, in his view, would have liked me then I was looking at photos of things and chose my favorite to buy.
However, consumer drug soon ceased to cause euphoria. I lost interest to everything. New Nokia not excited and did not satisfy me. I started thinking about why improvements in life, which in theory was supposed to make me happier, did not help, but only create in the mind a feeling of anxiety.
Life has become more complicated. So much for what must follow. Lawn, housekeeping, car, insurance, maintenance. The Seven was a lot of work... and in the end, I have a personal assistant for shopping? What have I become?! My house and my things were my new employers, and I didn't want to be hired.
Things got even worse. I moved for work to NY and rented a big house that served as a good reflection of me as an IT entrepreneur. The house I had to fill in things, and it took too much time and effort. I also have my house in Seattle. Now I have to think about the two houses. When I decided that I would remain in new York, it took a tremendous effort and a lot of flights here and there to close the question with an old house and get rid of all the things that were in it.
Obviously I was lucky with money, but such problems are typical of many.
The study "Life at home in the 21st century", published last year, shows the life of 32 families from the middle class. The need to take care of your property is guaranteed to causes the production of stress hormone. 75% of families could not Park the car in the garage, because a garage Packed with other things.
Our love for stuff affects almost every aspect of our lives. Grow the size of houses, decreasing average number of occupants in the house. For 60 years, a space for one person increased 3 times. I wonder why? To store more things?
What we store in boxes, which are dragged when you move? We don't know until you open it.
Interesting trend, though it belongs to US. You know that according to The Natural Resources Defense Council, it turns out that 40% of the food buys American, it turns out in the trash?
Such gluttony has consequences on a global scale. Wild consumption is possible due to excessive production, and it is destroying our entire ecosystem. IPhone, produced by Foxconn — they also cause terrible changes in the ecology of industrial areas of China. Cheap production, to hell with the consequences. Does that make you happier?
There is another point — socio-psychological. Observation Galen GB, a psychologist from northwestern University in Illinois, clearly linked the consumption of abnormal and antisocial behavior. The consumer mindset is equally negative for the person, regardless of their level of income.
My attitude to life changed after a meeting with Olga. Along with it I moved to Barcelona. The term of her visa expired and we lived in a small modest apartment, and was happy. Then we realized that we do not hold in Spain. We Packed some clothes, took toiletries, your laptop and went to: Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Toronto and many more places. I continued to work, but my office now fits in my backpack. I felt free and completely missed his car and gadgets left behind.
The relationship with Olga was over, but my life changed forever. It has less things, I travel light. I have more time and more free money.
Intuitively we understand that the best things in life are not those same "things" but relationships, experiences and goals. They are products of a happy life.
I like material objects. I studied design, I love gadgets, and clothes, and things like that. Butmy experience shows that a certain point, material objects are displaced emotional needs that these objects, in theory, should support.
I'm still an entrepreneur and now I am developing a well-designed compact houses. These homes are created so that they support our lives, not Vice versa. Like the 39 square meters where I live, these homes require a large amount of materials for construction, do not require major maintenance costs, allowing the owner to live more economically.
I sleep well because I know that I do not use more resources than I really need. I have less things, but more enjoyment.Little space — a lot of life.published