(This equation will improve your life) Satisfaction
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.
— The Rolling Stones
I have a weird relationship with wristwatches. Since I was little, I always used to wear a wristwatch. With my first pocket money, I bought a plastic digital wristwatch. It had a teal button at the bottom of the dial. If pressed, it would light up the screen so you could read the time in the dark. I loved that watch.
I grew up, and unfortunately, my relationship hasn’t improved. I have eight or nine wristwatches, most donated by my grandfathers. I sometimes enter these dark mind-storms, as I call them, of wanting. I obsess for weeks over this one watch I want. I read, watch, and study everything about it. Anything else going on in my life takes the back seat. My life satisfaction plummets and my anxiety grows. I use all my willpower not to pull the trigger and buy it. It takes a toll on me.
During those dark periods, I remind myself of this equation:
Life satisfaction = Haves / Wants
What a powerful equation!
It demonstrates that no matter how much you have if your “wants” are bigger than your “haves”, you’ll never be satisfied.
- Athletes like Mike Tyson going bankrupt.
- Watch-collectors have more watches than they can wear.
- People go into debt to purchase depreciating assets like cars.
Their wants keep growing, so their life satisfaction drops.
The perpetual cycle
People enter this perpetual cycle of:
- Wanting something and life satisfaction drops.
- Obtaining it and life satisfaction normalises.
- Then after some time, wanting a new shiny thing and life satisfaction drops again.
Can we do anything to escape this cycle?
Shift your focus
We should focus less on possessions. It’s hard because our capitalist society doesn’t gain from this. But it’s a battle we have to fight every day.
You should focus more on:
- Understanding and knowing yourself.
- Improving your mood. Do you know how?
- Accomplishing your goals. Do you have any?
- Making better decisions. Study how.
- Recognising faulty logic. We’re the easiest to fool. Learn about Confirmation bias and the Barnum effect.
- Understanding the world. Study psychology. Few things change, mostly repeat.
- Improving relationships. We are social creatures, learn how to have a conversation.
Delve into the concept of life satisfaction as a journey toward fulfilment rather than the relentless pursuit of desires.
A small neat trick
I managed to tame my watch obsession with this small trick. Whenever I feel the itch to buy another wristwatch, I do this:
- I indulge in the process. I find out more about the watch, I watch videos, and I do my research. I close my eyes and I vividly imagine I possess the watch. I spend time exploring how it feels in my hands and how it looks on my wrist.
- Then, I imagine that I scratched my watch. Ugh, how annoying. I don’t enjoy wearing the watch anymore because I see the scratches. I imagine seeing everyone on the street wearing the same watch.
- I get bummed. I don’t want the watch anymore. Thanks but no, keep the watch and I’ll keep my money.
This technique has worked flawlessly for me (so far). It can also be practiced with other material possessions besides watches.
Remind yourself:
Every time you want something, life satisfaction drops.
Train yourself to not want it.
You’ll be happier and richer.