Is More Really Better?

In his book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all small stuff, author Richard Carlson, Ph.D., writes about simplicity and living an authentic life. He says, “…as long as you think more is better, you’ll never be satisfied.” He goes on to say that the problem isn’t in the wanting, but in the longing for more.

We’ve become a culture of striving, craving, rushing and running after. We crave the newest fashion, we lust after the newest most technically advanced laptop, or phone, or TV. We spend our money on lattes and designer chocolates all the while complaining that we’re “not there yet”. We haven’t made it. Is more really better?

Dr. Carlson ends this particular essay with the wise words, “An excellent measure of happiness is the differential between what you have and what you want. You can spend your lifetime wanting more, always chasing happiness – or you can simply decide to consciously want less. The later strategy is infinitely easier and more fulfilling.”

We’ve talked about this in a previous post on havingness (here). Yet it’s worth repeating because it’s a difficult concept to grasp. We’ve been taught to go after, to strive, to yearn for, that which we don’t have. We’ve been taught that it’s about the doing – the actively seeking -that brings us happiness.So we spend our days acquiring more things in the hopes that these things will bring us the happiness we seek.

But if we realize that nothing is lacking, if our days are filled with thoughts of appreciation, gratitude, prosperity and abundance, then we send out a strong signal to the Universe: I’m happy just the way I am, full of appreciation and prosperity. That doesn’t mean we can’t want more – that’s still possible.

It’s changing the frequency with which we want that’s the key. 

To lead a simple life to me is to live a life without striving and craving. Yes I can have more things, but when I ask myself if I really want them, I find that I’m happy just the way I am right here, right now.

Spend some time today thinking about the differential between what you have and what you want. Is more always better?

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