Ask the Person In the Mirror
I have a question for you today. It's a profound one, so you might want to sit down. I think it gets to the heart of the materialism that lives inside us. We all have some, whether we want to admit it or not. Here's the question:
If nobody could see that you own x possession, would you still want to buy it?
Apply it to various possessions in your life. Take your car, for example. If people couldn't see that you owned that particular car, would you still want to own that car? In other words, if you couldn't get any perceived benefit from what others might think of you, would you still care about owning that vehicle?
Now, apply it to other items: that watch, the jewelry, the club memberships, the schools we send our children to, the hobbies, the collectibles. Fill in the blank with any and all possessions, and be honest with yourself.
I've run this experiment with about a dozen families, and the results are wild. When push comes to shove, most people would make different decisions about most possessions if we remove external awareness and perception.
Personally, I've had a few revelations about this question:
I used to care a lot about what other people thought, and that probably applied to most of the possessions I purchased and owned.
It's difficult to separate our wants and desires for an object from the perceived benefit we'll get from others' perspective. Even when we try to be self-aware, it still affects us subconsciously.
Today, aside from random comments I share on the blog and podcast, I don't think most people know about most items I own. I find it helps me keep my decision-making pure, hopefully removing this bias and influence from what other people think.
I don't actually care to own many items. My desire to buy and own possessions has dwindled over time, approaching what could be considered absurd (a topic for another day).
I think this question can help us gain a clearer perspective of the person in the mirror. We often like to believe that our purchase decisions are pure and unbiased, but behind the scenes, we're performing mental math about what stories xyz purchase will tell those around us.
Ask yourself this question today. I dare you!
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