All of us aspire for a better life. And since you only get one shot at it so why not make it count. Given the opportunity, most of us would want our lives to be more purposeful and meaningful.
But in our capitalist and materialistic society, a lot of us fall into the trap of upscaling our lives instead of upgrading it. Rather than living better, we are living larger and that isn’t always better.
Switching to a bigger and nicer car don’t actually make your life better. Especially when it’s functionally the same as your previous car. Moving into a larger house will only increase your commitment and expenses if you didn’t need the extra space.
All these things only makes you feel better without much meaningful improvements in your life. And to make things worse, they tend to put a strain on your budget as they are usually substantial commitments.
The key to living better is to focus on yourself and your well being instead. Invest in things and experiences that don’t just make you feel better but actually make you a better person.
Travel around the world to experience different cultures and widen your perspective. Take art or music lessons that helps foster your creativity while improving your focus. Sign up for online courses on subjects you always wanted to learn.
Visit your local bookstore to buy a book from your favourite author. Organise weekly sports outing with your friends to stay fit and healthy. Learn some programming by messing around with Lego Mindstorms.
Best of all, most of these are relatively cheap and accessible. So the next time you want to buy something, be honest and ask yourself, will it upgrade your life or just upscaling it. The aim is to live better, not necessarily larger.
If you think everyone should focus on upgrading their lives instead of upscaling, share this article with your friends. And if you have a minute, subscribe to my blog for more random insights like these.
Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash