Who and why you imposed your lifestyle

So, I went back into the world of work. I was again paid specialist engineering industry and finally felt back to normal life after a nine-month journey.

Since the trip, I lived a completely different way, a sudden return to work nine to five job allowed me to observe some features of my behavior. When I returned to work, I became less careful with the money. Do not mindlessly spend just a little faster and easier to part with them. Here is a small example: I started again to buy expensive coffee, though he was not even nearly as good as the NZ flat white, and I could not enjoy it in the sun-drenched patio. When I traveled, such purchases are spontaneous and I received from them a lot more fun.

I'm not talking about big purchases. I mean small, random and indiscriminate spending on things that do not bring into my life.

Reflecting on the past, I have noticed that it is always free to spend the money earned as well. After spending nine months without regular infusions of money, I did not give up such spending, but has become a little more attentive to this phenomenon.

I think I did so because I feel a certain position in society. I - a highly paid professional, that elevates me to a new level of cost. It's an interesting sense of power that occurs when do not hesitate to spend a couple of twenties. Great experience that "the power of the dollar," when you know that soon again receive money.

In fact, what I do, there is nothing unusual. Everyone else is doing the same thing. In fact, I think I just came back to normal consciousness of the consumer, after some time he lived differently.

One of the most surprising discoveries in travel time - this is what a journey around the world (including countries where life is very expensive), I spent less than at home.

I had a lot more free time, I went to beautiful places in the world, Meeting new people right and left, I was calm and peacefulness and spent time memorable. And by some miracle, it cost me less than a normal lifestyle and work from 9:00 to 17:00 in one of the most affordable cities in Canada.

This means that for the same dollars at home, I received a lot less than in the journey. Why?

Culture unnecessary

Here in the West, mindless consumption is cultivated by big business. Companies in all sectors of production have huge profits from people's habits do not count the money. Therefore, they encourage the universal love of random and irrelevant spending.

In the documentary "Corporation»(The Corporation) marketing psychologist talks about the techniques that she has used to increase sales. Her staff conducted a study of the effect on the whims of the children have the desire of parents to buy toys. They found that between 20 and 40% of purchases occur because children start whining, trying to persuade their parents to buy a toy.

This is an example of how we are spending millions of dollars on products for which demand has been created artificially.

You can manipulate the consumer, making it first to want, and then buy your product. It's a game. Lucy Hughes (Lucy Hughes), co-author of the study "Factor whining"

Large companies would not have earned their millions only by advertising the actual merits of their products. they impose culture of consumption hundreds of millions of people who buy more than what is needed, and try to get rid of dissatisfaction with money.

We buy things to cheer yourself up, to live as good neighbors, to meet their children's ideas about what should It is similar to adult life, to demonstrate their status and a pile of other psychological reasons that have little to do with real needs.

Think about how many things in your garage, the storage room, on the balcony or in the closet you have not used in the last year ...

Why would really need a 40-hour working week

The main corporate tool to help maintain a culture of consumption - a 40-hour work week as a normal way of life. In such circumstances, people are forced to rely only on evenings and weekends.

Such a schedule makes us more and more quickly to spend money on entertainment and comfort, because our free time is very limited.

I went back to work a few days ago, but have already noticed that most of the activity vanished from my life: walking, exercise, reading, meditation, and a permanent record. The difference between these types of activity is that they require almost no money, but it takes time.

Upon returning home, I had a lot of money, but not enough time, which is typical for the average North American.

While I was abroad, I would not hesitate spent the day in the national park, or spend a few hours reading a book on the beach. Now this pastime is not even considered. Even one thing of this would take too much precious time with my weekend.

When I get home from work, the last thing I want to do fitness. Exercise does not seem like a good idea, and after dinner, before going to bed and after waking up, too. And this is the only time that I have on weekdays.

It seems that this problem has a simple solution: work lessTo have more free time. I have proved to myself that I can live a full life, with less than now.

Unfortunately, this is close to impossible in my field of work. And in many other areas too. You work 40+ hours a week, or you do not work.

All my clients and contractors working in firms with a standard working day, so do not get to ask they do not bother me after an hour of the day, even if I would be able to persuade your employer to give me special schedule.

Eight-hour working day, established after the industrial revolution in Britain in the XIX century, and it was a relief for the workers of the factory with 14- and 16-hour working day.

With the development of technology and methods of work we have learned to produce more in less time. It would be logical to assume that this will lead to a reduction in the working day.

But the eight-hour day is too beneficial to big business, and not because people are doing more work for eight hours (the average office worker in eight hours less time toThan three hours really concentrated work), but because it creates a community of happy consumers.

If you create a lack of free time, people will be much more to pay for the convenience, pleasure, and other relief that can be bought. This causes them to watch television and advertising. This causes them to be ambitious only at work.

Culture imposed on us makes us feel tired and dissatisfied with their lives, so that we constantly want the things which we have not. We buy so much because of the vague sense that we have something missing, we're missing something.

Western economies, especially in the United States, based on the satisfaction of dependency and unnecessary spending. We spend to treat yourself to reward yourself, to celebrate, to solve problems, to raise the status and to dispel boredom.

You can imagine what would happen if all of America ceased buy unnecessary thingsThat does not affect people's lives?

The economy would have fallen into a stupor and never recovered.

All promoted American problems, including obesity, depression, pollution and corruption - this is the price we have paid for it, to create and support the economy. That the US economy was healthy, unhealthy must be America.

Healthy and happy people do not feel that they need more than they have. This means that they do not buy a bunch of unnecessary things, do not need so much in expensive entertainment and do not watch a lot of advertising.

Culture eight-hour working day - this is a serious tool of big business, which allows you to keep people dissatisfied and make them get rid of the negatives from the purchases.

Maybe you've heard about Parkinson's law. It is often used in relation to time: the more time you have something bends, the more time you have on it goes. It's amazing how much you can manage 20 minutes, if you only have 20 minutes. But if you took on the same task noon, most likely, so you are at it and spend.

Many of us turn to the money in this way. The more we earn, the more we spend. And not because we suddenly need to buy something. We spend money just because we can. In fact, very difficult for us to spend as before, if we begin to make more money.

I think there is no need to avoid this ugly system and go live in the woods. But we need to understand what he wants from us big business. decades corporations have created millions of ideal buyers and succeeded. And if you are an ordinary person, your life has been created long before your birth and forced on you.

The ideal buyer not satisfied, but full of hope, is not interested in serious personal development, accustomed to the TV, working full-time earn enough, he allows himself the pleasure in your spare time and just floats by flow.

It looks like you?