The Grass Will Never Be Green Enough!

(Satisfaction) play this in background

"Mommy, I want 3 scoops of ice cream!!!" "But Billy, two scoops is plenty for you." "No! I want more!"

The four letter word that causes so much agony and pain throughout the history of the world: more money, more friends, more happiness etc.  For some reason, mankind can and will always aspire for something more. Some might say that it is evolution, but I believe otherwise.

Ev·o·lu·tion  

A process of gradual, peaceful, progressive change or development.

Naturally, everything will progress without our control. It is quite selfish and blind to actually believe humans can manipulate evolution. What we can do though, is influence and guide our personal evolution. The common mistake people make is how to better themselves, but that is exactly how we (marketers) make money!

The majority of the human race thinks that if they somehow meet the expense of something they should purchase it, for example " I could afford a Mercedes if I put my savings down and pay it off through a period of 15 years and if I sell my two children". They get caught up in what they could have, in comparison to what is necessary. 

In the Integrated Marketing course we were introduced to the concepts behind Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs. One of the needs, located approximately in the middle of the pyramid, is esteem. This need triggers almost every unnecessary buy in our society. Its either because their esteem is too low causing them to buy frivolously in order to provide illusory comfort of living for their inflated state of social class; or the esteem is too high where one feels the urge to buy in order to show off. The fact is, once a person becomes comfortable with what they have, the hunger for something more soon returns and the cycle continues.

What society needs to focus on in order to begin evolving in the right direction does not necessarily revolve around purchasing for one's ego, but for our overall health and generosity. These may consist of: getting a gym membership, eating healthy food, and maybe a self help book for those personal image problems. In addition to charities and donations, your esteem will rise when you bring joy to others and you will begin to appreciate that its not what you want, but what you have that makes the difference and that is what will bring you eternal happiness.