I need a car, but I want leather seats. I need a home, but I want a nice house. I need clothes, but I want stylish clothes, including the latest activity appropriate shoes. I need a job, but I want something interesting, fun, where I learn and that pays well.

Many of us like to say that we NEED certain things (I include myself here), but we really don’t need them, but WANT them. There is a very distinct difference between NEED and WANT. In our western society, we live in a consumerist society, not capitalist. In a true capitalist society (Capitalism), the profits from any venture would be plowed right back in to the business in order to further expand or improve the business. That being said, our consumerist society values those who have been successful from the capitalist point of view and has the income to afford expensive houses, cars, toys, etc. This view of success is often challenged by people who say “success is not measured in money, but friends and family”. While I agree this is ideal, it is far from the truth. If YOU had the choice of winning the lottery (Super7 in Canada is $20 million this Friday!) or knowing 10 friends would call you and have a party this weekend, which would you chose? For one, I know that if I win the lottery, I will have LOTS of options for parties and will suddenly have LOTS of people wanting to be my friend. I would certainly be more mindful of who I let in to my inner circle, but in our present society, I would not have to choose. With more money, I have more options. It doesn’t make me a better person, but certainly opens up doors of choice.

Lately, I have been questioning the NEEDS vs. WANTS and have being coming to some enlightening (in my mind anyway) conclusions. I don’t need a lot of furniture. What I have is fine. I do need to paint my walls, the white is getting to me. I don’t need every new gadget, but will still buy more than the average person because I love technology. However, I am not fooling myself. I know that I don’t need some of the stuff I have. I realize it and can be honest to myself that I am trading off against other things, like some extra travel or opportunities to take some extra time off from work. I am fine with this as long as I can still control my options. I am lucky enough to have a choice, but I work damn hard in order to maintain it. I work more than 40 hours a week. I still take at least one university class a semester. I reserve time for my daughter and give her the attention she deserves. I read instead of watching TV. There are choices to make and each one of us is responsible for our own fate. There is luck involved, but you create your own opportunities.

In the end, I NEED very little, but aspire to a lot. This means I WANT a lot.  However, I want to continue to be conscious of the difference and put some thought in to my decisions, no matter how small they may seem at first and as the question “do I NEED this?”. The answer is often no and thinking about it can make all the difference.

Stay interested and interesting!

John