Will having the much coveted Birkin bag make you happy? I'm sure I will be ecstatic after waiting months for the most sought after bag that costs an arm and a leg. But will the happiness last? Or will I be like a kid who throws a tantrum for a toy and loses interest once he gets to play with the toy?
The article in NYT titled "But will it make you happy?" argues that wanting things and getting more things will not necessarily make us happy. We can be happy with less.
I tend to agree. The challenge now is whether I can learn to live with less. Instead of collecting things, I choose to collect memories that come with experiences like taking my kids traveling. Instead of having a bigger house where I have to spend more time maintaining, I would rather have a smaller place I get to enjoy.
The challenge in Asia is the social pressure of having the biggest house, fanciest car, latest branded bags and the other material standards we are being measured against. Can we simply learn to be a by-stander in the crazy material race?
* click on the title of this blog to take you to the NYT article
1 comment:
that's a good one... I get so annoyed by Asian families who determine their whole self worth by the size of their TV
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