Day 44 - Things

I always have a running mental list of all the nice things I'd like to buy for myself. For over a decade a nice bike was on that list, but I wasn't able to afford one until recently. As soon as I could afford it, I bought one. Next on the list was a new snowboard. I bought a new one last year, and was able to get rid of the 15+ year-old one I'd been using.

Now that I'm making a little more money, I'm able to cross things off the list faster than I ever thought possible. A nice camera had been on the list for years, and I finally bought one this year.

The strange thing about the list is it doesn't seem to get shorter, it's actually getting longer.

"Now that I have this nice road bike," I think to myself. "I should get a sweet commuter bike, and rack and fenders..."

And more recently: "this camera is nice, but I could use a better lens. And I definitely need a tripod..."

It's strange how we adjust to every new income level we reach. And as soon as we adjust we suddenly "need" more things.

The odd thing about the list is that actually buying those things doesn't bring me as much happiness as the prospect of buying them, or the idea of the list. I'm afraid my nice new bike will get stolen so I still usually ride my old bike around. Since I bought my new snowboard during a drought, I've only ridden it once in the year that I've had it. Most of these new things sit around, unused, gathering dust. In fact, if I hadn't started this 100 day challenge, I'd probably almost never pick up my camera.

If the idea of the list makes me happier than actually purchasing the next item on it, wouldn't I be happiest just saving my money and dreaming of all the things I'll never have? Of course this would never work, because the happiness ultimately comes from the hope that I will someday have these things.

So I will continue to work hard, and strive for my imaginary surfboard and wetsuit. Whether or not I surf is a different question.