4 ms·

"I don't need a shiny car, but I often feel like I want one." I think you're hitting on something here. Maybe more to the point is that there is something else

"I don't need a shiny car, but I often feel like I want one." I think you're hitting on something here. Maybe more to the point is that there is something else you want more - either to save your money for things that give you more security or enjoyment, or to follow your principles, etc. In you heart, you feel that NOT buying a shiny car will make you happier than buying it. Much of our unhappiness comes from sacrificing our higher desires - health, security, accomplishment - for lower ones: junk food, instant gratification, laziness. The salesman in the article is pushing his customer away from a higher desire to a lower one. And helping to make him less happy.

joe_the_user 17y ago
Ah, "higher desires" and "lower desires" is quite a judgment! It is even more an extreme judgment when you are talking about what you think other people should do. I am not saying that I disagree with you, necessarily. The problem is that human societies have evolved from smaller scale societies where "higher" and "lower" desires were well-defined by social consensus to the present large scale societies where there is no consensus definition of virtue however much it might be talked about. I won't say that there's a solution here but we've got to take into account the problem...
- billybob 17y ago
  "It is even more an extreme judgment when you are talking about what you think other people should do." No. You're missing my point. I don't mean "higher" and "lower" in terms of how other people judge them. I mean in terms of how happy they make you. If you are overweight AND you wish you weren't, you make yourself unhappy when you choose to eat junk and not exercise. For a moment, the junk food tastes good, but then it makes you unhappy all day. (If you don't mind being overweight, fine.) On the other hand, if you force yourself to get in shape, going running makes you momentarily unhappy, but overall you feel more satisfied with your life. It's the same reason you go to work when you're tired, clean your house when it's filthy, etc. The reward is worth the pain. Everyone is welcome to define their own goals in life. If your goal is to be a Level 5 Million WOW player, and you don't mind losing your health for it, fine. But if you kick yourself every day for your habits (whatever they are) and wish you could change (in any way), you've got a priority problem. You should be sacrificing lower desires for higher ones.

joe_the_user 17y ago

Ah, "higher desires" and "lower desires" is quite a judgment! It is even more an extreme judgment when you are talking about what you think other people should do. I am not saying that I disagree with you, necessarily. The problem is that human societies have evolved from smaller scale societies where "higher" and "lower" desires were well-defined by social consensus to the present large scale societies where there is no consensus definition of virtue however much it might be talked about. I won't say that there's a solution here but we've got to take into account the problem...

billybob 17y ago
"It is even more an extreme judgment when you are talking about what you think other people should do." No. You're missing my point. I don't mean "higher" and "lower" in terms of how other people judge them. I mean in terms of how happy they make you. If you are overweight AND you wish you weren't, you make yourself unhappy when you choose to eat junk and not exercise. For a moment, the junk food tastes good, but then it makes you unhappy all day. (If you don't mind being overweight, fine.) On the other hand, if you force yourself to get in shape, going running makes you momentarily unhappy, but overall you feel more satisfied with your life. It's the same reason you go to work when you're tired, clean your house when it's filthy, etc. The reward is worth the pain. Everyone is welcome to define their own goals in life. If your goal is to be a Level 5 Million WOW player, and you don't mind losing your health for it, fine. But if you kick yourself every day for your habits (whatever they are) and wish you could change (in any way), you've got a priority problem. You should be sacrificing lower desires for higher ones.