It's the death and life of all of us. And it wasn't until I was born into the Advertising world that I became obsessed with the concept. My days were spent surrounded by creatives who came up with brilliant strategies to manipulate people into buying more stuff. Wrapped up in a pretty bow of course. They were masters at it, and this fascinated me. There was so much beauty and ugly to the art. But what was behind it, and how did they become so slick about getting under the skin of people like me, evoking the urge to buy more? Nothing I really needed nonetheless. Maybe if I figured out exactly how they did it, I could become my own master at managing my consumption patterns. I could then unlearn these habits that were validating my belief that comfort leads to happiness. And ultimately, I could buy my freedom.
I was determined. So, from the moment I walked down my stoop in the morning, I made a conscious effort to track every dollar I spent throughout the day. From the fruit vendor I passed on my block to the 20 other standard deviations I was presented with from the outside world–and not to forget about once I got to my computer each day. Cause let's be honest–e-commerce shopping can cause serious damage, and instant gratification has always been my worst enemy.
I played this game with myself for quite a while. How little could I spend each day? And I gave myself a reward on the days I spent the least. Because what fun is a game without a prize at the end? And slowly, as time passed, my disease of impulse buying turned into conscious spending–and my whole world opened up. I began to purchase with intention and slowly crawled out from the rabbit hole of living paycheck to paycheck. Then it suddenly hit me...maybe if we stay curious more often–take a look around at the bad AND the good, we could all become our own masters.