We sacrifice! Why we constantly want things that we do not need

It started with a bang. With me as a cracker, to be exact. Unfortunately no original carnival disguise, but my everyday costume as a child. Oilily, the brand my mother put on. Today, she states firmly, she would have attracted three children so screeching, so we were not lost. It worked. All three still there. Unfortunately, the maternal care also laid the foundation for mine, let's call it careful: brand awareness. I say that way (sorry, mom), so I do not have to be responsible. Because it was getting worse. Puberty screams, door slamming and ground trampling were the result of unfulfilled wishes. The wishes? Buffalos. Right, the shoes with the huge platform sole or the trekking-like tire sole. You had to have in the nineties. That's what I tried to teach my mother by all means available to a teen girl (alarm voice and howling). My sister got wind, was on the Will-I-have-board? and so Mama surrendered rather than agreed. But that's how you win wars. And that was one. It was about pure survival. On the schoolyard. To affiliation. Do not be an outsider, dear fellow traveler. Is safer. Comprehensible, human feelings that could be satisfied by material possessions. To a certain point, it is clear, but unfortunately the consciousness came later ...



Archteuer and ass tight

So we had the shoes. Now we needed the right pants. Since there was no choice in the group forced camp school: "Ne flotte Miss Sixty had to come from? extremely expensive. And: very tight. I hear my mother's voice today: Put on an undershirt. And put it in the pants! Your kidneys !? My brother was more of the Carhartt, Helly Hansen, Fila type, while my sister and I materialized the Spice Girls hype on our own body.

"Will I, do I need to die?"

What sounds like funny indulgence in the past raises questions: What is today? What has changed? Honestly: not much. I could buy a Toshiba calculator, but have one from Apple. Difference to the childish will: Today I try to explain selfishly. Much better handling, blah, blah, blah. At least I was honest at the time: I want, I need, otherwise I die. What began as a pure life-saving measure in the schoolyard eventually became an identifying feature. The industry ? whether fashion, technology or car? But it also makes it easy for me to want things. Of course, it's always the others who mislead me. First my mother, then the industry. Clear. But actually my subconscious. We are constantly bombarded with new things on all channels. Normal process in my head: oh, how awful. At some point then: not so bad. Until the feeling gives way to a willing-I-urge? and then I am the one who surrenders to himself.



Brand love is emotional, connects, has something to do with closeness and values. Quality, design and image play a role. Status anyway. This is also about self-expression. You used to want what others had to belong to. Today, on the one hand, you want what others do not have to stand out. On the other hand something from Apple. However, in the end, ownership remains. Does that mean concrete for me: laptop from Apple, mobile phone from Blackberry? my last wall of defense against total sacrifice. The news hit me painfully that the former smartphone pioneer would no longer manufacture telephones. What now? What to do? Buy an iPhone? Absolutely no way. I'm still thinking.

The rescue is almost in sight

But why do we always mean to want things, to even need things? Fortunately, when it comes to foresight, I do not have to ask that anymore because it means: We will soon stop consuming too much. Not because we absolutely have less money, but no desire to own more. Me a little bit. I do not have a car and I do not want any. Is only half true. My husband has one. And I use it. I say: self-flagellate arguments. According to the futurologists, today's buying behavior is also moving towards ethical consumption. So is closely related to environmental and social standards. This is supported by the growing number? Greener? Fashion brands. On the other hand: the expansion of the cheap fashion house? Primark? in Germany. For that: the share economy. By contrast, the insane fast-fashion madness, which weekly provides for the change of goods in stores. By the way, I realized how much this system had already grabbed me when I went to the same furniture store a few times and wondered why the same things were still there. Caught. I was in the consumer trap. And a little ashamed of me. That made it quiet? Click ?. A nice sound in the inner ear that unfortunately only myself heard ... The click became my personal, melodic slogan: You can not get me! I do not buy a new, expensive sofa. So. tricked.Yikes, the candlesticks are pretty! Who are they from?



Don't sacrifice what you love just to achieve your dreams | Nick Offerman (March 2024).