From the dawn of our civilized record, commerce has driven the world events. Wars have been started over economics and people have needlessly died for causes generally identified by the ruling class of persons that had no interest in the ‘greater good.’ History continues to bring chaos at the foot of the throne of riches that individuals seek to occupy without regard to sustainability and their own future.
Certain situations in my house have brought me to a place where I need to study just how this idea has affected me and just what I can do about it. In a sense, this was not just a revelation that I had by myself but one introduced by my spouse who has been my partner in shared economics for over 30 years. This, I believe, gives me the credibility to write on the subject using myself as the main subject.
I will start with the admission that I have been manipulated…for most of my life. Now this manipulation is ok if I know that there is manipulation afoot, but if I am unaware then it becomes a situation where I am victimized. I seek to stop the victimization…first with me and then with anyone else who finds that they identify with the situation.
I buy things on Amazon. I buy things on Market Place. I buy things on eBay. I buy less things at Wal-Mart and Target than I used to but I still buy there. The problem is that most of my purchases are not based in necessity or my current reality. That is…things change. The only thing is that our lives and choices are tracked so closely that we are being fed a steady diet of our past choices.
For example. I have two eyes. Somehow, I have felt the need to have 20 contact lens cases and this seems silly but I also never stop using the old lenses when I replace them with new ones. My father would say that would be a waste. So, I clean them and always have four running at the same time to the point where I forget which ones are the newest. I suppose that’s why I want the color code.
Oh, how about that new money making activity that I got involved in when I retired. Day trading required more computer monitors so after upgrading the video card, I started buying more monitors for my computer. Sadly, I can’t always be at my computer in my bedroom and what if it breaks down. So an entire 2nd set up. But, what about if I am at work. Now a third setup. Now that I retired, I travel to my mom’s home in NJ. Now a fourth setup. NO ONE NEEDS 14 COMPUTER MONITORS!!
It never ends. My feet are very important because my legs started to break down and when I went in to the sick care system, they said I would have this issue for the rest of my life. When I found a pair of shoes, I made sure I had a spare set of shoes. This is not what I meant to have. The sad fact is that these all are still serviceable shoes and they are all basically the same shoe. And it doesn’t stop there. I also live near pools and need to navigate some pretty hot asphalt. So…enter and endless supply of flip flops and–fun fact–I HATE FLIP FLOPS!!
How about my unreasonable addiction to tripods and selfie sticks? Every possible size and feature included. Please don’t ask me if I have a camera for each one…the sad fact is that I do. Maybe I should start shooting films for a living.
In the bedroom pictures you may have noticed the Ukuleles. I don’t even play it very well. Why do I need 5 of them? (I have a sixth in my wife’s school.) Or the harmonicas. Who needs this many harmonicas? Or where music is concerned, how about my seemingly irrational love of headphones. The sad thing is that they all still work. There is even one that was custom designed to fit my ears only. Why?
I am poking fun at myself just a little bit, but it is exposing a weakness that we all have and that is that our purchases are mostly emotional. Advertisers play on that by creating fear in all of us. Yes, I said fear. It is subtle but understandable. All of these purchases can be traced to fear. Sellers now have constant access to us to create this fear.
They know my interest. They keep sending me opportunities and before I can start to think about the consequences, I hit buy. They include incentives and urgency appealing to my fear of missing out. I hit the purchase and get an immediate hit of Dopamine. Boom!! I have more stuff I don’t need and actually feel good about it.
Fortunately, this fear has only caused a lot of clutter in my house. Most of this stuff hasn’t broken the bank. Still, it could be very bad for people if they are buying dangerous things. No one is going to stop trying to sell you on what you consume. They will only increase your hunger for what they know you have an irresistible urge to acquire…whether you need it or not. They will make you “feel” that you need it and that is the point that I am trying to make.
I am going to make a concerted effort to stop reacting emotionally and reduce the clutter while at the same time digging deeper into this fear aspect and what it is doing to all of us. It’s time to stop being the victim of someone else’s fear.