We human beings are a confusing bunch. We might be altogether content, but yet when we see a new bright, shiny object, we start hopping about like a dog that hears its owner coming back into the house after being away for the day. In many cases, we then buy it.
Mind you, these bright, shiny objects often aren’t needs, but rather wants. When we’re young, maybe it’s a toy that someone else has. When we’re teenagers, maybe it’s a pair of shoes. When we start out in the workplace, perhaps it’s a fancy car.
Some people want the world. And they want it now!
As we get older, the new bright, shiny object might take the form of a bigger house. Or a decked-out kitchen. Or a club membership. Or a bejeweled necklace. Or a hedonic treadmill. Or an alpaca farm. Or a small, sovereign island nation. Actually, we probably ought not to covet small, sovereign island nations. Leave those alone. The point is, the possibilities are endless.
And therein lies a problem: endless. For most people, there’ll always be bright, shiny objects to want. To chase. To buy.
Sure, at the end of the day the buyers will have the toy, jeans, slick car, house (avec fancy kitchen), club membership, necklace, and alpaca farm and small, sovereign island nation. And that’s not nothing, of course.
But I’ll hazard a guess that the average buyer of bright, shiny objects experiences only fleeting joy from many of them. The toy gets played with once and is soon forgotten. The jeans join a rotation of umpteen other outfits. The car gets dented and nicked. The better part of the house, and the fancy kitchen, largely go unused. The club is seldom visited. The necklace collects dust, waiting to be worn for the one or two “special occasions” a year it’d be appropriate for. And the alpaca farm becomes an albatross farm because the buyer realizes that alpacas are a pain to maintain.
And the buyer, more often than not, lives mostly or entirely paycheck to paycheck. Maybe he or she even has a chronic debt problem. And will work at least until traditional retirement age, if not longer. To boot, the pursuit of the next bright, shiny object likely will continue unabated. But the ability to afford it without taking on (more) debt diminishes or disappears.
And what’s the end goal? To impress other people? OK. But if that comes at the expense of solvency, how smart is that? And if the trade-off is working until you drop dead many more years in exchange for some quick thrills, was it worth it?
I’m of a similar mind as Paula Pant, with this being my small twist on her mantra: many of us can afford a lot of things, but not everything. So if there’s a bright, shiny object that you want and believe will bring you outsized joy in the moment or will bring you long-term joy, and you can afford it, then I say bully for you. Maybe don’t just walk to it, run! The key is to be mindful.
Hot pursuit
Certain other bright, shiny “objects,” however, not only are absolutely worth pursuing, but can be had without draining our financial coffers. In fact, they can be invaluable.
Health, for example. Those six-pack abs and toned legs on so-and-so sure look pretty good, don’t they? Sure, you can join a health club or buy a hedonic treadmill to try to get them. But maybe you also can run, buy and use a set of cheap weights, do push- and pull-ups and calisthenics, ride the bike you already have, do something with a ball, and eat healthy, home-made meals. If you’re less able-bodied, there still may be other equally cheap options available.
How about wisdom. Do you find yourself feeling like a dummy for being ignorant about more things than you’d care to admit? Or do you sense that people often judge you for not knowing certain things?
Well, how about taking action? Find and read good news sources. Check out books or magazines from the library on subjects you’d like to learn more about. Listen to podcasts. Visit Professor YouTube. The possibilities are many, but the dollars necessary to reach the goal need not be. And those friends whom you want to impress? I suspect they’ll be at least as impressed by your (newfound) wisdom than by any other physical object you might have bought.
My precious
As for me, health and wisdom are f’sho bright shiny objects that I covet. I certainly focus on getting them. And the cost to me is minimal.
But the bright, shiny object that I’ve for some time pursued most doggedly costs a ton of money and will end up taking me years to afford. It can’t be seen, but I want it something bad.
That “thing?”: getting to FIRE. More accurately in my case, it’s the bright, shiny object that is long-term financial security and control. I’m not just willingly forgoing the toy, jeans, slick car, house (avec fancy kitchen), club membership, necklace, and alpaca farm and small, sovereign island nation, I’m doing so with no regrets.
Of course, I and the rest of The Family aren’t living in an unheated, kitchenless shack. And we have stretchy pants jeans. Some of us in The Family even have bejeweled necklaces. We’re working on the alpaca farm. Especially Thing One (The Elder) and Thing Two (The Younger). The small, sovereign island nation, as I’ve noted, is decidedly not on our list.
So I wouldn’t exactly say we’re suffering along this path. Sacrificing, yes. Suffering, no.
And so, I continue the pursuit. Truth told, I’m on a payment plan. Lean FIRE has been paid for. We’re closing in on full payment for target FIRE. And payment for fat FIRE not only is possible, but if the trade winds are reasonably favorable, may be inevitable down the road.
Are or will people be impressed? I don’t know. Frankly, I don’t care. That said, if my example inspires someone to make a positive change, I’ll be quite pleased.
And in the end . . .
Dear Reader, focusing on impressing others is a fool’s errand. Even if people are impressed, they’ll only be so temporarily. And should they remain impressed, the expense may have cost you (too) dearly.
So focus on being mindful and pursuing things that will pay dividends and bring long-lasting, if not positive, transformative benefits. Maybe then you’ll be a legit shiny, happy person, too.
