It goes without saying, your mind is a powerful weapon. Wouldn’t you agree that this weapon is turned on yourself too often? If a person is to be truly happy, you must adopt a minimalist mindset! Life often begins with these grandiose thoughts of “achieving” the American Dream at least here in the West! What exactly does this “programming” condone? It is about desiring more, not what you have or what is reasonably attainable.
What I am not proposing is not to desire at all, but to think desires through carefully. I often measure the cost of anything against the time invested to acquire said “desire.” Let’s say you want a pair of boots that costs $249 plus applicable tax. If you make around $16 per hour, it will take around 17 hours of labor to afford those boots. You can’t forget that labor also introduces other variables such as stress and wear on the body! Not only is it just time you are “trading” with most labor, but also physical exertion or energy. Make no mistake that stress combined with energy expenditure will affect you in some way! It affects most among us even more so because of already existing poor health habits and conditions!
Something that is ignored amongst “desires” is the obstacles often in the way. No, I’m not even talking about the acquisition of just money to purchase these things, I’m talking about the variables not within your control. Influence is one action we can take and control, but the outcome of that influence is not in our control! Again, we can use the example of using money to acquire a home. So, you are in an apartment, and you think it’s now time to acquire that large piece of the good old American Dream! Well, if you are to lose your job at your place of employment, you are now crushed within your own mind thanks to your unfulfilled desire. It is so important to be thankful for what we do have. Why is the apartment not sufficient? Are you purchasing the home for status? These are vital questions within the spectrum of desire. It is very important to stay out of long-term debt either way. Long-term debt is crushing because we cannot foresee the future in which long-term debt is based. Yes, isn’t it crazy that when applying for a loan the past is looked at instead of pondering the future variables that can alter someone’s income?
This post I understand can be difficult to grasp but stay with me here. Creating harmony is all about desiring what is essentially “free” and within your control. For example, you can desire a better body. Well, you need nothing more than your own body and the world that you are in! This is a healthy desire that will only cost you the time to work out, reaping all the benefits of health and appearance with the outcome! This is an example of you having total control over your own desires without fear of outside interference. Sure, you can be sidetracked but you are in control of that happening or not!
Desires can take the form of more than just financial materialism. One can desire the “perfect” partner for example. One will create what they desire of this “perfect” partner inside the mind and when that partner doesn’t meet the desired expectations their world is then turned upside down. Sure, we would expect certain things from a partner in life, but what really do you control of the other person’s actions? Nothing. Don’t confuse influence with control. Two totally different dynamics there. You may do your best to influence someone, but control of another is futile. In the end, they will do exactly what they want to do! This is a perfect example of what I deem “emotional desire.” It is a desire to have another meet your created behavioral expectations. This is a recipe for disaster because once this desire for certain behaviors doesn’t materialize, it can be emotionally destructive. This is incredibly unhealthy causing massive insecurities and other mental instability. This desire can only help in destroying the one thing you sought in the first place! Are you starting to see how the mind is turned on the owner and its loved ones?
In closing, we all must appreciate when desires materialize for us. When they don’t, we must realize there is much not within our power other than our influence. We must temper energy used to influence as the outcome may not be what we desired. With more time and energy spent to influence, we create more discontent when the target desires are not fulfilled. It is important to keep our desires in a state of “probation.” When you see that a desire meets the criteria of being within your ultimate control and thereby achievable, let it be free of its’ “chains,” that it may be attained. Understanding your own mind is the key to being content and setting yourself free from the “chains” of your own desires. Happiness is a state of mind, not a state of being!