How Lowering Consumption, Can Make Us Happier
How becoming a Conscious Consumer, and Lowering Consumption Can make us Happier
By Earth Activism
How can one become a Conscious Consumer? The relationship between excessive consumption, clutter, and unbalanced emotions is not new. Lowering our levels of consumption and expenditure can bring us to a state of calm satisfaction and joy. Different Psychological studies show how the Environment in which we live influences the state of our mental health. Messy spaces are related to depressive states, and the accumulation of objects impacts mood and self-esteem. Is it possible to be happy with less? We believe so.
As my spiritual growth expanded and developed, voluntary simplicity was a natural outgrowth. I came to realize the cost of material accumulation was too high and offered fewer and fewer real rewards, psychological and spiritual. Duane Elgin
Lowering Consumption Leads to Greater Emotional Balance.
Adopting this line of thought also allows us to create a more sustainable environment.
We live too busy to pursue happiness because we can’t see that our emotional balance is vital in achieving a stable level of joy. The Media and the social networks reinforce the illusion of perfection, almost always associated with consumerism. Every day, through new technologies, advertising, and varied information, we are bombarded with miraculous promises that guarantee almost instant happiness recipes. So, instead of taking advantage of what life offers, we tend to participate in a vicious circle. From Paycheck to Paycheck to Paycheck, we live in favor of premade and preconceived Ideas of happiness. Often these premade choices are made based on others’ wants and desires.
I consciously started to live simply when I started to become conscious. Duane Elgin
Lowering Consumption through Organizing
The secret is simple: stop and think. Allow yourself to get out of the usual expenditure pattern imposed by an increasingly consumerist society. Don’t follow the changing waves of trends, turn off the autopilot. Consumption alone is not a bad habit. What makes consumption bad are the causes behind this behavior, as well as excess. Full cupboards, shelves full. Over time, it becomes almost impossible to keep everything organized. One way to break the habit of excessive consumption is to organize the house. When storing your cabinets, bookcases, and drawers, you will notice if an excess is present in your life.
With fewer objects at home, you’ll find that household chores will be more comfortable, simpler, and faster to finish. The minimalist Environment may be ensuring more time for you to devote to other things that give you pleasure. Your home will likely be increasingly seen by you as a space of comfort and joy, feelings associated with pleasant activities. You should try and do the test. Organize your home, try to get rid of excess, and see its impact on your mood and self-esteem. Start changing your life today.
To tidy up cabinets, for example, empty them and place objects and clothes in a place where you can see them. Only then will you be aware of whether or not there is excess. What we really need is to realize how little we really need. Ashleigh Brilliant
RELEASE BRINGS RENEWAL
During the organization process, which includes getting rid of what no longer makes sense in your life, you will have the opportunity to practice detachment at various times. Think of this whole experience as a vital learning process for your emotional balance.
It is well known that, in relationships, others should not be responsible for meeting our emotional needs. Let’s take this maxim to the material field. We quickly understand that objects should not have the function of filling empty spaces within us, nor should we attribute to them the source of our happiness. Don’t give them that power away.
Living in the here and now, that is, the present moment, also applies to material issues. Do not keep objects just because they carry past feelings and memories. The same goes for those objects that we accumulate in the hope of being useful in the future.
Lowering Consumption, Conscious Consuming, and Simplifying Emotions.
Nothing is eternal. This serves both for relationships and for what exists in the material field. Life is a constant dance and in continuous change.
Learning to live with less and finding the real joy of life in us is the secret of our journey. Only then, by letting go of what does not make sense or does not bring happiness, do we open space for the new, for renewal, and for rebirth. However valuable, no object will be able to match what a real human experience is capable of providing. That is why more and more people invest their financial resources in experiences that give them pleasure, such as travel, moments of learning, and sharing. Commit yourself to make and collect good memories.
Voluntary simplicity has more to do with the state of mind than a person’s physical surroundings and possessions. Duane Elgin
RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
The benefits of responsible consumption bring benefits not only to our emotional health but also to our Environment. The idea of conscious consumption is intricately linked to environmental sustainability. By consuming according to our real needs, we avoid excess and, consequently, waste, respect and preserve our Environment’s integrity, and diminish pollution.
• Some Pointers to Start Practicing and to become a Conscious Consumer • Small daily gestures can make a big difference:
• Change thought patterns: you are not what you have.
• Don’t depend on your impulsive desires, exercise self-control.
• Try not to buy on impulse. From the moment you decide to purchase something until its completion, wait a few days. This will help to avoid mindless consumerism.
• Think before you buy—question whether it is indispensable.
• Bet more on quality and not on quantity.
A Simple lifestyle of reduced consumption allows more time for interaction with living, dynamic beings, more opportunity for meeting the Other more fully and unencumbered. Stephanie Kaza
Consuming with responsibility will help to avoid unnecessary spending of resources on recycling processes. With a focus on consumption, it makes a decisive contribution early in the waste life cycle. As the saying goes: “the best way to deal with the problem is to prevent it from happening.” Do your part and live consciously. Your emotional balance and the Environment would be grateful.
You May Also Like:
Mottainai: Where Everything Has A Soul
Lowsumerism – The Spiritual Analysis of Modern Consumerism
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