“When success is equated with excess, the ambition for excess wrecks us.” —Switchfoot, American Dream
We live in a complicated world—one that has confused excess with success.
We desire lasting significance and influence and impact, but spend most of our time chasing temporal possessions.
Consider how many of our resources are directed towards this accumulation of material goods. We spend our hours earning money. We spend our money buying products. We waste our energy caring for them. And then we punch the time clock on Monday to start the process again.
For an economy based on consumerism to thrive, goods must move. Money must be earned, money must be spent, and the demand for material possessions must continue to increase. Our economy must constantly create goods and manufacture needs.
The result is a world of excess. Even when basic physical needs are met (shelter, clothing, food), the cycle must continue. More goods must be created and more need must be manufactured.
Excess becomes the unintended goal of a consumeristic economy. (tweet that)
Somewhere, understandably, excess also became the goal of the individual. Whoever dies with the most toys wins became the reigning mantra of our culture.
This was an unfortunate turn.
Our souls long for greater accomplishments than the accumulation of material possessions. Nobody sits across the table from another human being and unequivocally declares their greatest goal is to own as much stuff as possible. We think and dream in much broader terms.
We long for something greater than material excess. Our hearts define success differently.
We desire significance. To be known as good fathers and mothers and husbands and wives and friends and citizens.
We desire influence. To use our gifts and make the world better. We want to know our lives mattered for something.
We desire freedom and opportunity. Not just for ourselves, but for others.
We desire love. To be fully known and fully accepted.
Unfortunately, too often, our unchecked pursuit of more stands in the way of this success. Excess material possessions steal our money, time, energy, and freedom. Our definition of true success gets lost in the noise.
Rediscover your greatest goals. Redefine your greatest pursuits. And refuse to equate material excess with lasting success.
I was reminded of the futility of excess accumulation of “stuff” recently. One of my elderly neighbors passed away with no heirs. I stopped in during the estate sale, conducted by staff who did not know this gentleman. It was saddened to see the redundant accumulation that remained in his home after he passed away with no legacy.
I will endeavor to release my physical possessions now, so that I can make space for things that matter: gratitude, mindfulness, and close relationships.
regards,
John
http://www.thehillofbeans.com
Your comment really reasonated with me. I tell my son often “If I die before I’ve fully cleaned it out, I just want you to know: I’m sorry about the basement!” It’s said tongue in cheek but I am determined that he won’t have to deal with my junk when I’m gone. I want him to remember ME – not all the things he had to dispose of after I was gone.
Awesome read, as usual. :-) The title and message of your post reminded me of Switchfoot’s song ‘American Dream’ which starts out with the lyrics:
“When success is equated with excess
The ambition for excess wrecks us
As top of the mind becomes the bottom line
When success is equated with excess”
Though I did not know the source, the opening line from that poem, spurred the post. I will go back and include them as a source.
Marvelous! Good song and band to boot. :-)
Very inspirational article- thank you! My husband and I have been talking a lot lately about how to best spend some unexpected overtime money he made- buy the grill we want? Save for a new truck? Invest in our kids’ college savings funds? Take the kids on an amazing traveling adventure? Your post was timely because it helped us evaluate which of those goals would bring real satisfaction versus just a short-term impulse-buy shopping high.
That was an excellent read. Thank you.
I’ve recently been inspired by your blog and book, Clutterfree with Kids, and have started getting rid of all the excess I’ve accumulated. I’ve donated a truck load of stuff to a charity garage sale today and it feels great.
My wife is also slowly getting on board as well and packed up a couple boxes worth of kitchen items.
Still a ways to go but I’m feeling very inspired to keep moving forward towards those desires you listed rather than spending money and time on inanimate things I don’t need.
This post reminded me of a movie we recently watched: Roger Moore’s “Capitalism”. It brought home to me how dependent our country has become on the wrong things.
Great, insightful post, Joshua! To your inspiring list of what our hearts desire, for my purposes, I’ll add the desire to feel alive.
Cheers!
As soon I looked the pursuit of significance and influence (in terms of a career) square in the face I ended up changing careers. I let go of desire for material extras in our home life—there weren’t any holes that needed to be filled. Up to that point work was the one area where I felt I wasn’t doing what I was meant to do. I think lack of purpose can sometimes lean us in the direction of consumerist “hole-filling”. Glad I figured it out now and not later. Great post, Joshua!
The materialistic culture of Western society breeds unhappiness. You are correct in saying that people’s pursuits of material possessions does not tend to bring happiness and that it results in neglecting the things that are important for our health such as love and connection. I think some of it comes from the fact that people want to impress others and one way of doing that is through having the most expensive things.
Great post! Cultivate love and happiness rather than money and goods. Two of the regrets of the dying is not spending enough time with people and working too much!
Wonderful words once again. I was reminded of my mother (a Depression Era child) saying that the Depression was an equalizer. Everyone was dirt poor. She and her sister wore flour sack dresses. Their dolls were round top wooden clothespins. I have pictures of them planting a garden and stories of the hobos who sat on their back porch with a bowl of soup from their kitchen. My father was on a farm in South Dakota and had even less than my mother had in the suburbs of Detroit. That generation thrived after WWII. They couldn’t accumulate bright, shiny and plastic fast enough. I, too, was left with a packed to the ceiling attic, basement, and closets of crap when they died. More was more! They were simply a product of their deprived childhoods. They absolutely did equate success with excess and were proud of it. My adult son said at the time, “Don’t ever leave me with a mess like this!” So there is a responsibility to clean up your own mess before you die. I resented that my parents expected me to do it for them.
I can relate to your story, my parents are the same. Attic, closets and drawers full off unecesery stuff. They even built a extra part on their house to accomadate more stuff…I thought me and my sister were gonna be left with all this after they are gone. They have a rental home and are forced to move next year, so to my joy they are forced to clean out there own stuff!
Greetings from the Netherlands.
My mother-in-law passed last month. SAME! Left behind a house full of junk that was SO important to her. It inhibited her entire life and she selfishly coveted it…even though it could have helped others. She took none of it with her to the grave but the clothes on her back.
The 2 words use that sum it up are: inhibited and coveted. You hit spot on. It’s just sad, isn’t it? Even if my mother was never going to use something else again, she had to have it hidden somewhere in her house. So much crap that she didn’t even know where, but it was hers!
You’ve made an accurate observation here. It’s so easy to assume that material wealth equates to success. Esp. if you come from a background as mine. I see that God challenging me to change that mentality, and this post comes at that time. Thank you!
wonderful post. you keep seeing new ways to look at improving the way we deal with this culture of excess we live in. please keep writing…it keeps me inspired and motivated!
Good post. People are under the impressions that excess equals success. But all the money in the world isn’t worth much without greater values in your life (Ebenezer Scrooge comes to mind).
However, I like the quote from Dan Bilzerian – “At the end of the day, money is freedom.When you have a lot of money, you can do whatever you want.”
But does money really equal freedom? I sometimes wonder. What if we spend the last 30 years of our lives in a profession we despise to obtain money? Have we given up 30 years of freedom for “freedom?”
I grew up with little. We were forced minimalists due to having very little money. I didn’t mind. We spent time together, enjoyed the outdoors, played games as a family, created lasting memories. I grew up with little and I wouldn’t change it for anything.
I have been a big fan of your blog since I was introduced several months ago, but have yet to comment. Slowly I’ve whittled away at my closet, kitchen, books, and media and feel very accomplished with my success. But today you said something that hit a little too close to home.
“Whoever dies with the most toys wins…”
Ouch. That cut me deep and I went to my kids’ closets and pulled out ALL of the toys today. Batman, Star Wars, safari toys, cars cars and more cars, race tracks, blocks, stuffed animals, squinkies, etc, etc. It was DISTURBING. I was seriously depressed and kept saying to myself, “This is absolutely despicable! How did we ever come to this!” I laid them all out on my bed and on the floor and had them come it to see the “excess.” They all agreed it was way more than they needed, or even wanted. I told my boys to pick out their favorite stuffed animal and they could have whatever fit in one bin. To my surprise, they were excited because it would be “less to clean” and they didn’t even fill the bin I had given them (about a 1 foot cube). We went down from 8 bins to less than one! (plus some books, but those got pared down to only ones that teach morals.)
Slowly we are “becoming minimalist” and it feels fantastic!
Love your words. I have 4 kids and a husband. We have been accumulating and I am so sick of it. I started following this blog about 2 months ago and I am feeling so much release. So far I have taken out 6 bags of toys and kids clothes and this weekend my husband and I got rid of 5 huge trash bags of clothes and we won’t even miss them. I have my husband on board now. I figure I will just keep on going through stuff repeatedly until I fill like we have room to breath and relax. Feels so good.
Ultimately all economies are consumer driven. The only reason automobiles, cell phones, computers, and cheap plastic toys are produced is because someone can make a profit by providing someone else what they want. When we start trading less of our time on earth for money to purchase these items less will be produced.
My personal view is that the unnecessary accumulation of stuff represents precious moments of my life wasted. I had to spend time working to create the income to purchase the item. Then I had 1/3 of my work taken from me through taxation. With what’s left over, I purchased something that I did not need, want, or use. Stuff for stuff’s sake, for me, represents the wasted alternatives of the time spent earning the income to buy it.