Page 9 - Workbook3E

“Quality of Life” versus “Quantity of Things”
Need to Adjust Your World View?
The prevalence of financial bondage has led to a growing trend or shifting cultural world view toward financial responsibility and the need to conserve. However, old habits die hard. You may want to consider the following points in determining if your world view needs some adjusting.
1. High-Consumption Lifestyle is Less Fulfilling
Many people are not enjoying their fast-paced lifestyle, expensive home, cars, and gadgets as much as marketers claimed they would. Numerous disillusioned consumers are finding greater satisfaction and fulfillment from a quality of life, not a quantity of things. Instead of working more hours to buy more things they have less time to enjoy—they’re taking charge of their lives. You can make conscious choices to spend precious time and money in worthwhile activities with people you care about, bringing yourself and others lasting fulfillment.
2. Quantity-of-Things Lifestyle has Negative Impact
Spending money for the sake of keeping up with the neighbors comes with a high price tag. Instead of owning your possessions, their upkeep and your debt starts to own you. Working for, maintaining, storing and protecting your belongings, consumes time and energy that you could have shared with your loved ones enjoying life. The easy-credit policies that entice people into buying more than they can afford or need, has greatly increased the average person’s debt, and decreased their freedom.
A Quantity-of-Things Lifestyle can create strains on family life, increase personal stress, and promote poor health habits. An abundance of labor- saving devices have produced an excess of human couch potatoes.
For many people, a sedentary lifestyle at work and play has replaced physical labor and athletic activities. As you learned in Workbook 2—a stressful, inactive lifestyle negatively impacts not only your physical, but emotional well-being.
3. Ready for a Change?
As discussed earlier, America’s cyclical economic pattern of prosperity and excess is typically followed by an economic downturn and moderation. For example, the “Roaring 1920’s” were followed by the Great Depression and a war. After the war, there was a fairly long period of prosperity followed by the cultural upheaval of the 1960’s, etc. In each case, the excess of the former cycle led to the beginning of a new cycle and yet another change in the national outlook.
“I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views as fast as they shall appear to be true views.”
~ Abraham Lincoln
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