Why do we want what we do not have and yet not happy with what we do have?

1. 71

   backporchstoriesposted 13 years ago

   Why do we want what we do not have and yet not happy with what we do have?
   
   Have our social standards made us into material animals?  A wasteful peoples?  We tend to always want the latest, newest or greatest as if a competition exists.  We have become a throw away society and always looking for something new and shinny.  Why?
   
   

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2. 50

   whonunuwhoposted 13 years ago

   Much like"the grass is greener on the other side", human kind is often unsettled and unhappy with their situations and want more or better, which may well be only in their minds and things actually could not be much improved, in many cases. It is just human nature to want change and seek new avenues.Maybe that's why we make new discoveries, some by accident, and some with a purpose.

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3. 79

   Attikosposted 13 years ago

   Part of it is human nature. We are acquisitive creatures.
   
   Another part of it is the materialistic culture in which we live today. We are trained from infancy to want more, more, more, always more. It's the engine of the consumer economy, and everywhere we turn the message is reinforced. It's hard to overcome such thorough indoctrination.

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4. 35

   edhanposted 13 years ago

   It is all depend on the way you have been brought up. Now being a parent to my children, we teach them to value things. We let them know them they can get what that is within their means and treasure of what they can have.
   
   It is also the society that others tend to compare what people are having and they also want it.

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5. 66

   Lisa HWposted 13 years ago

   I like new stuff as much the next person does, but I don't spend a lot of time worrying about getting it or about having "what everyone else has".  So, I don't mean to seem self-righteous, but we ALL don't "want what we do not have and yet not be happy with what we do have."
   
   I'm absolutely happy with what I do have; and "what I have" that's most important to me is my children and other family members and friends.  For now (knock on wood) I have my health.    I enjoy whatever "stuff" I have, though.  In fact, I like whatever stuff I have enough that I'm in no particular hurry to replace it.
   
   A lot of (most) of the people in my life are similar to me when it comes to whether they're materialistic, shallow, and "throw-away" people; so the corner of society that I see still values what's truly most important.  Having said that, I don't think that enjoying buying something new when one can means that deeper values have been lost or compromised.

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6. 0

   CJ Sledgehammerposted 13 years ago

   Not everyone is that way, although many are.
   
   A wise man once said that one of the ways to ensure happiness is to "Like what you have and have what you like." So many people are so impulsive, that they do not stop to think about what they are bringing into their lives...and then "buyer's remorse" settles in.
   
   I also think many people have a huge void in their soul (God hunger) and they think things are going to fill it. Now, it may seem like the void is filled temporarily, but then it reemerges and it must be filled again and again until the grave takes them or they come out of their spiritual stupor.

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7. 60

   snigdhalposted 13 years ago

   A large part of 'wanting what we cannot have ' is human psychology ...going as far back to the forbidden fruit for some .
   
   Some of the times it is our innate need to know more , in today's world it is more often about peer pressure , societal conditioning and the need to seek happiness outside of ourselves in pursuit of ever elusive pleasure .
   
   Acquiring things provide us with fleeting diversions so we may temporarily ignore our real problems .I by no means am immune to those impulse acquisitions . No man is an island and the societal traits are made by individuals and the individual traits are defined by society to quite an extent .

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