We live in a materialistic world where we feel that the more “things” we have, the higher our status will be and the more important and fulfilled we will feel. Our materialistic society is due to a number of reasons. For one thing, everywhere you go you are bombarded with advertisements for material items and the marketers make sure they present an image along with their pitch of how much richer your life will be if you own this particular item.
Advertising works on subliminal messages that register in your subconscious and marketers take advantage of this by seducing your subconscious into believing you need their product.
Secondly, we live in a society where we are pressured to project a certain image. If you drive a certain car it reflects your status; if you accumulate wealth and possessions then you should be fulfilled; wearing designer clothing is prestigious; purchasing the latest technology makes you hip; and so on. There is so much pressure all around us to own material possessions. For this reason, we find ourselves trying to break free so we can stop being a slave to our possessions.
1Changing Your Attitude
First, you need to change your attitude about money and your perspective on what is important. This requires taking inventory of your habits and what makes you do what you do. Attitudes about money come from your background and beliefs that were instilled early on. More often than not changing your attitude about money and material things requires reversing some of the patterns that you developed during the early stages of your life. This may sound like a psychology lesson and it might be to some degree because changing the way you think about money means conditioning your thought patterns to develop a new perspective.
- Take Inventory: Take inventory and write down your current habits and behaviors. This will help you to see the situation spelled out in front of you. Ask yourself: What it is that makes you spend money?
Are you happy with what you have or do you always want more?
Do you constantly compare what you have to others?
What will you gain by owning material possessions?
Do you feel fulfilled when you buy material items?
What are you thinking when you shop?
Do you often buy things just because they are on sale or because they are essential for your daily life?
What is really important to you?
When you contemplate the future, is it in regard to things or people?
Could you live with less expensive material possessions?
These are some of the questions you should ask yourself. You can come up with some others on your own. - Identify Your Fears: Identifying your fears is important for changing your attitude about money. When you are afraid of something this can lead to compulsive buying and purchasing items that are really not required for your daily life. By identifying your fears it makes it easier to face them one-by-one and how they relate to accumulating material possessions.
- Determine Your True Psychological Needs: Reach down inside yourself and determine what you need for psychological well being. Often you will find that you purchase material items in an attempt to fulfill a psychological need such as loneliness, detachment, or other emotional factors. Once you have identified some of these emotions see if you can find a way to substitute shopping for something else.
It is also important to note that advertisers know that psychological need is one of the primary reasons people buy compulsively so they tailor their marketing strategies according to your emotions. Societal pressures make us believe that material possessions meet our emotional needs when in reality compulsive buying results in more dissatisfaction. - Make a Commitment to Yourself: Make a commitment to yourself to change your activities and lifestyle to get off the material possession treadmill. Decide what you like to do besides shopping and make a change. If doing it all at once is too much then begin with small steps. Decide on one activity that you will do each day no matter how small and write it down. Writing it down helps to imprint it on your memory. When you achieve it make note of it so you can see it in front of you. Gradually expand to other things that help you to feel fulfilled instead of shopping for more material possessions.
- Enlist Family Support: Make a pact with your family to engage in activities together that help to provide fulfillment. Decide that instead of buying things for one another, do activities that are emotionally healthy and benefit you and your family as a unit.
2Cutting the Ties
Once you understand what creates your relationship with material possessions you can begin to cut the ties, break free from materialism, and take back your life spiritually and financially. Keep in mind that breaking free from materialism is not an easy task and will require self discipline on your part. You can tell yourself that you must simplify your life; however, it is another thing to put the plan into action and actually do it. Here are a few tips on how to cut the ties:
- Get Rid of Stuff: Look around you and make a list of all of your material possessions. If you have accumulated them over a period of years this may take some time. Once you have a list, review each item and then prioritize them in order of significance.
Decide on the number of days each week that you will commit to getting rid of stuff. If it seems like moving a mountain, then begin with a few things at a time. For example, if you have accumulated a lot of clothing that you really don’t need then make a commitment to give a few pieces to charity or put the items up on eBay. Whatever it is, commit to it and then do it. If you happen to buy an item then agree to get rid of something else. - Educate Yourself: Make it a point to learn the marketing strategies that advertisers use to get you to open your wallet. Your research could include topics and keywords like subliminal advertising, marketing strategies, sales copywriting methods, how subliminal marketing works, and other topics of this nature.
The more you educate yourself on the tactics that are used by advertisers to get you to buy, the better you will understand the mental manipulation that goes on to make a sale seem like a “no brainer” to the buyer. Once you understand how you are being manipulated, you can protect yourself against marketers that use powerful methods to essentially pick your pocket. - Downsize: Decide on ways that you can simplify your life. Of course getting rid of stuff is part of downsizing but, what are some of the other ways that you can downsize to create fewer headaches with material possessions? Take a look at some of the larger material possessions that you have. For example, if you live in a huge house and it is just you and perhaps your spouse, ask yourself if you really need a house that big or if you could do with a smaller one that will put more money back in your pocket. Do you really need a brand new car or can you cope with driving a used car?
- Restructure Your Life: Once you downsize your life you will find that you have the time and money to do other things. Larger material possessions require upkeep and drain your time as well as your finances. Once you extricate yourself you should decide how you are going to restructure your life so you do not start the cycle all over again.
