THE SETBACK OF MATERIALISM
In my year one in the university, lots of girls dressed to kill and I wanted to be like them.
Don’t get me wrong, I had decent clothes but I wanted more, I knew I couldn’t afford that lifestyle and it began to steal my joy, then I had to examine myself, what options do I have in order to be able to buy this expensive outfits.
One was to inflate the prices of things I needed in school to my parents.
The second one was to do what most of these girls were doing at the time to afford that lifestyle.
But when I thought of the consequences of taking any of those routes, I decided to stick to living a simple student life.
What is materialism you may ask?
Materialism is the acquisition and obsession to keep possessing items.
Buying gadgets, designers outfits, and cologne, traveling when you don’t really need to in order to show off leads to materialism.
Materialism eventually traps you into modern-day slavery.
It saps your income and stops you from saving for the future because people who are immersed in materialism eventually spend all they have.
DOWNSIDE OF MATERIALISM
- Materialism stops you from becoming the best you can be. The thing is the quest for materialism leads people astray.
- Materialism can make one do the abominable just to afford a certain lifestyle.
- Materialism takes away true happiness as one’s worth becomes dependent on what one has.
- It makes one a slave to the unnecessary things they desire.
- It leads to unhealthy competition.
- It drains you financially, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.
HOW TO AVOID MATERIALISM
- Embrace the life of simplicity.
- Understand the difference between what you need and selfish wants: Research has shown that what we really need is food, water, clothing, shelter, and the Internet. Everything else is essentially due to our own accord.
- Be yourself and have healthy self-worth.
- Focus on intrinsic happiness: Focus on improving yourself and bettering your life, learn new things, read, exercise, eat healthily, educate and impact lives.
- Avoid the need to impress people with your possessions.
- Quit comparing yourself to others.
- Don’t get emotionally connected to material items.
Live intentionally.
Article by © Mrs. Esther Edidiong, Regional Outreach and Education Coordinator, CYMI South-South
Photo: Jacek Dylag and Charles Deluvio
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