IDEAS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE 1414Materialistic values
W
ant to be rich and
famous? Then don’t
expect to be happy,
argues psychologist
Tim Kasser in his book The High
Price of Materialism. If your aim in
life is to be wealthy, famous, and
good looking then you’re increasing
your chances of being miserable. The
psychologist argues that materialisticvalues are the stuff of unhappiness,
low life satisfaction, depression,
and anxiety. Materialistic people,
he argues, are more likely to suffer
physical ailments like headaches
and sore throats, take substances
like tobacco, alcohol and drugs, be
self-conscious, limit their opportuni-
ties for authenticity, autonomy and
freedom, sabotage feelings for ‘flow’
and intrinsic motivation, feel alien-
ated from society and others, have
difficulties with emotional expres-
sion, and suffer personality disorderslike being either avoidant or overly
dependent on other people. “In the
face of messages glorifying the path
of consumption and wealth, all of us
to some extent take on or internal-
ise materialistic values,” he writes.
“That is, we incorporate the messag-
es of consumer society into our own
value and belief systems. These val-
ues then begin to organise our lives
by influencing the goals we pursue,
the attitudes we have towards par-
ticular people and objects, and the
behaviours in which we engage.”NewsPhotograph by Gitte Christensen“Whoever prefers the
material comforts of life
over intellectual wealth
is like the owner of a
palace who moves into
the servants’ quarters and
leaves the sumptuous
rooms empty.”–Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach,
AphorismsIDEAS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE 14Materialistic values
W
ant to be rich and
famous? Then don’t
expect to be happy,
argues psychologist
Tim Kasser in his book The High
Price of Materialism. If your aim in
life is to be wealthy, famous, and
good looking then you’re increasing
your chances of being miserable. The
psychologist argues that materialisticvalues are the stuff of unhappiness,
low life satisfaction, depression,
and anxiety. Materialistic people,
he argues, are more likely to suffer
physical ailments like headaches
and sore throats, take substances
like tobacco, alcohol and drugs, be
self-conscious, limit their opportuni-
ties for authenticity, autonomy and
freedom, sabotage feelings for ‘flow’
and intrinsic motivation, feel alien-
ated from society and others, have
difficulties with emotional expres-
sion, and suffer personality disorderslike being either avoidant or overly
dependent on other people. “In the
face of messages glorifying the path
of consumption and wealth, all of us
to some extent take on or internal-
ise materialistic values,” he writes.
“That is, we incorporate the messag-
es of consumer society into our own
value and belief systems. These val-
ues then begin to organise our lives
by influencing the goals we pursue,
the attitudes we have towards par-
ticular people and objects, and the
behaviours in which we engage.”NewsPhotograph by Gitte Christensen“Whoever prefers the
material comforts of life
over intellectual wealth
is like the owner of a
palace who moves into
the servants’ quarters and
leaves the sumptuous
rooms empty.”–Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach,
Aphorisms