In today’s world, especially with capitalism, many of us are always wanting more. We’re told to buy more stuff, go on more trips, and collect experiences to be happy. Ads everywhere tell us that buying this or traveling there will make our lives better.
If you grew up in a developed country and are healthy, you might not really see how others live. Sure, you can travel and visit different places, but you don’t truly know what people’s everyday lives are like. The more I look around, the more I see people who have everything they need yet are still unhappy. They constantly look for new things to make them feel better. I think social media plays a big role in this.
Social media shows us more than just the lives of our friends. We end up comparing ourselves to strangers too, and somehow, we’re always seeing people who seem to have more, like bigger houses, nicer cars, fancy vacations. When we see these things, we start to want them, and we focus on getting them. But even when we get them, we just end up wanting more. It’s like an endless cycle that’s hard to break. Some people work more hours or even go into debt just to keep up with this pressure.
One thing I’ve been noticing more lately is how people are getting surgeries to change how they look, whether it’s for aesthetics or dental work. People are trying to look “perfect,” but sometimes they end up looking weird or unnatural. And with things like Botox or fillers, if you stop getting them, your face can look even worse than before. I find this incredibly dangerous because people are changing their bodies permanently to feel better about themselves, but the reason they feel bad is often because of how others treat them, especially strangers.
This is one of the main reasons I don’t use apps like Instagram or TikTok. It’s hard to avoid the feeling of missing out when you’re constantly seeing others with shiny new things, experiences, or looks.
I believe true happiness comes from being grateful for what you already have, not from having more. If you’re healthy and have your basic needs met, you should appreciate that. There are billions of people who don’t have those things, and it’s enough to make you feel happy.
You don’t always realize how important those things are until you lose them. When you get sick, you stop caring about stuff, you just want to be healthy again. When you don’t have access to things like clean water or air, those become your only wishes. When you can’t even go outside to hang out with friends, a vacation seems like a distant dream.
So, as we enter a new year, I just want to remind myself to be grateful for what I already have. I don’t need more to feel happy. What I have right now is enough.
