The urgent need for contentment in a product-rich environment

We are surrounded by enormous wealth, which is a great blessing. We can get amazing stuff for almost nothing, delivered to our house quickly.

But this blessing comes with its own challenges. For me, one of the challenges is buyer’s remorse. E.g., I get a new pair of water shoes (for kayaking and such), and then over the next 12 months I see 25 different brands that I might like better.

Someone might be tempted to think that if you do your research before you buy, this won’t be a problem. But that’s not true. First, you can’t possibly do enough research, and second, new products are coming on the market all the time.

The solution, I think, is contentment. We have to learn that good enough is good enough. Or, as the old guys in Second Hand Lions said, learn to do without.

5 thoughts on “The urgent need for contentment in a product-rich environment”

  1. I find a problem to be too many choices. I think we’ve got it ingrained in our heads that we have to have “the best” or at least “the best deal” in the amount we can afford. Then when I start searching there’s so many choices I get lost in analysis paralysis.

    You probably don’t watch too much TV, but when I was a kid… 3 US networks, CBC (from Windsor,ON across the river/border), and maybe 3-4 UHF stations. Now, some of the networks have that many choices in their little slice of the pie and trying to choose what to watch when there’s 200 choices…fuggedaboutit.

    I bought a WiFi extender recently because my house is very long and the modem is at one end and the other end of the house had spotty WiFi. I went to one magazine, saw the reviews (and the prices), then went to my local Best Buy to find the one that matched closest in what I was willing to pay ($80 vs $130). Haven’t had a problem since. Maybe a different one has better performance, but it’s working fine for what I need it to do.

    1. I didn’t have good luck with a WiFi extender, but my ethernet over power setup works great.

    2. I agree that learning to choose what’s “good enough” helps a lot. It doesn’t need to be the best possible deal on something that does it in the best possible way with the coolest features. If I can afford it, it does what it needs to do, it lasts a reasonable amount of time for its price point, and it’s reliable, that’s good enough. But it’s so easy to fall back into that mindset of “but this other one might be Even Better”. That doesn’t only lead to discontent, it’s just a big waste of time and emotional/spiritual energy as well.

    3. QUOTE: I find a problem to be too many choices

      That reminds me of when I supervised a summer intern from Europe. She loved her experience in the US but recognized we have a LOT of choices, even in simple things. She wanted to get milk but found herself somewhat overwhelmed by having to choose between multiple types (skim, 1%, 2%, whole, etc.) compared to what was available at home.

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