Summary: A new job or promotion often comes with a pay raise which entices us to change our standard of living. This cycle of continually increasing our expenses as our income rises plays itself out as we grow in our careers. We buy nicer things, we get a better car, and we (maybe one day) buy a house. Little by little we accumulate things that subconsciously validate our place in society, but we never stop to realize one of life's most liberating things - that who we are is already enough. And certainly, what we already have is enough. Instead we continue the cycle of consumption, strengthening our enslavement to what we own until we can never break free. For me, one thing that began shifting my mindset around consumption validation was to ask myself a simple question - Does this purchase come from a place of needing validation? I did this over and over again, until I got a sense of what truly brings me joy versus purchasing as a compulsion for consumption. Recently my wife and I decided to rent a 900sq ft house for $1,400 a month. We could have purchased a house, we could have gone bigger than what we have now, but we decided to go small, and to simplify, Find ways to break free from the mindset that you have to increase what you have, what you own, what you spend. You don’t have to; you can make a choice. Don’t follow society’s compulsion for consumption and definition of happiness; create your own ideal situation where you have options, where you create a life of less, and less stress.
