1) Stuff – I need stuff. Stuff is cool when I get it.
2) More stuff – If some is good, more is better.
3) Different stuff – I want certain stuff I like.
4) Purpose, Philanthropy, Helping Others – stuff doesn’t turn me on anymore. Now I want to do what I was meant to do, and I enjoy helping others.
What phase are you in?
Two things I like to say about “stuff”
1. everything you own, owns you back.
2. freedom in life is inversely proportional to the amount of internal combustion engines you own. (note this is not original – a quote from an article in INC magazine about 25 years ago. Has stuck with me since)
At 57, I think I must be somewhere between Phases 3 & 4 – sometimes I feel like my life is ‘stuffed with stuff’ and I consider things that I’d like to eliminate to alleviate some of the ‘responsibility of possession’ and make time for things I’d like to DO rather than absorbing time concerned over things that I HAVE.
Great post, Larry! Very thought provoking for a Friday.
Have a Great Weekend
Happily in stage 4…though there still are times its nice to get something new and exciting.
GO SCOTT GO! Love from Knox Tn
Larry, your philosophy matches mine precisely. Stuff isn’t where it is for me. I like nice things but only if they benefit me or others and only if they are being utilized. Stuff sitting around and providing no utility is a waste. One exception is the “prettiness” that people decorate with but that also has utility even it isn’t “doing” something. People see it, enjoy it and it makes them happy.
Your level 4) is truly where it’s at. I was pondering this recently when thinking of those who feel that they are stalled out, that they can’t reach new heights fast enough, that they have too much baggage to be able to get ahead or they think they just aren’t a good person in general. My answer to this is to stop trying to help yourself and go help others. If we can’t seem to achieve the heights that we want then go find others who are trying to reach new heights and help them get there. We can find great satisfaction in helping others reach new heights and in so doing will ourselves have reach an all new height of a different sort.
Good morning Larry,
Im totally in stage 4 and Im glad to be there.
Mike
We need to move towards stage 4 as the antidote to meaningless consumerism. Social media propagates the “you could be happy if you just buy this” narrative.
Thanks for the recognition! Appreciate everything you do!