I enjoy baseball and I like cheering for the hometown team. So my son and I decided to attend an evening of postseason baseball this week when the Arizona Diamondbacks hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers.
If you follow baseball, you know the Diamondbacks lost the game… and the series… and their season ended that night. In that regard, the night was a bummer. But in every other way, the evening was close to perfect.
The crowd was boisterous. The weather was amazing. The food was delicious. And the conversation was stellar.
We make choices every day with our financial resources. But this particular night of baseball was a helpful reminder to me that experiences are almost always a better investment than things.
Consider the reasons:
Experiences result in greater happiness. According to research, experiences result in longer-lasting happiness than material possessions. This is the case for several reasons (including some listed below). But in the article provided, the driving argument is that humans quickly adapt to their external surroundings. As a result, the happiness provided by new material possessions is short-lived. Over time, people’s satisfaction with the things they buy decreases, whereas their satisfaction with experiences over time increases.
Experiences provide better memories. One reason I enjoy baseball so much, is undoubtedly, because of the many memories I have watching it with my father. Growing up in South Dakota, an annual trip with the family to watch the Minnesota Twins play was a highlight of summer. Decades later, I look back on those moments with great joy and fondness. I remember them far better than almost any of the physical gifts I received as a child.
Experiences result in less clutter. Most physical possessions eventually become a burden on our lives. They take up physical space in our homes and mental space in our minds. They require care, attention, maintenance, organization. Experiences, on the other hand, are accompanied with little to no physical baggage. The only thing I brought home with me from the game were a few photos on my phone.
Experiences provide greater opportunity to connect with other people. This is the nature of experiencing things with others. Because we enjoy time together around a common purpose and activity for an extended period of time, we are afforded numerous opportunities to talk and connect with one another. My son enjoyed the game on the field, so did I. But I also enjoyed the opportunity to simply talk and connect about school and sports and friendships.
Experiences result in greater mindfulness. In 2010, Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert published an important study in Science magazine. Their research concluded that “a wandering mind is an unhappy mind.” And the greater a person’s ability to “stay present” in a given moment, the greater happiness they experience during and after. Experiences provide greater opportunity in this regard. In fact, to discover more helpful techniques about how to stay present in the experiences of life, read How to Make Good Moments Last Longer by Allison Niebes-Davis, PhD.
Experiences result in less comparison with others. According to research done by Ryan T. Howell and Graham Hill, another significant reason experiences result in more happiness than material possessions is because experiences result in less comparison with others. Or, as they put it, “It’s easier to feature-compare material goods (how many carats is your ring? how fast is your laptop’s CPU?) than experiences. And since it’s easier to compare, people do so.” This doesn’t mean, of course, that comparisons don’t still occur at events (“I wish I had that guy’s seats!”). But overall, both during and after, we are less inclined to compare with others the experiences we enjoy than the material possessions we own.
When we first began pursuing minimalism nine years ago, I remember asking myself what might I begin to do with the newfound benefits of owning less. If we were no longer purchasing, pursuing, and caring for excess possessions in life, what might we do with the excess money, time, and energy?
Over the years, we’ve been able to do a lot. But enjoying memorable experiences together as a family is certainly near the top of the list of my favorite.
Compared to buying more things, I’ll take enjoying memorable experiences any day. Even if my team did lose on Monday night.
Alix says
So funny to see this article today! Over the weekend, I spotted a gorgeous velvet scarf for $58 that I absolutely do not need but really wanted. I told myself I’d think about it (self control!) and go back Monday if I still wanted it.
After the Red Sox won Sunday night, my nephew said, to my surprise, that it was possible to get tickets to the next day’s game. I’d never been to a playoff game before, so I eagerly agreed to go.
So early Monday, forgetting all about my potential shopping trip, I headed up to Fenway. What a blast! Oh yes, we lost in the end, but we fought hard. The 4+ hour, rain-soaked game was a nail-biter; we stood up so much to cheer and encourage the Sox that actual seating was hardly necessary. And we saw an inside-the-park home run! Despite the loss and elimination of our post-season hopes, the experience was incredible, and we enjoyed the game, and each other’s company, completely.
Cost of my ticket? $58. Made the right choice.
Lottie says
I definitely am trying to enjoy experiences more in the moment rather than spending time on my phone videoing and capturing it through a lens.
Michaela says
This is so true! I noticed that the experiences I make on my travels mean so much more than things. ANd I realized that all the clutter I have at home I really do not need at all…
xx
Michaela
Linda Sand says
Much better than your son playing catch solo while you clean the garage. :)
Sarita says
I recently moved in with my son and family. I BIG dodgers fan so we have been watching playoffs. My 4yr old grandgirl knows that the “blue guys” are our guys! Yes! That was US you heard yelling ! ?Hoping that we are making memories together.
John says
Great point about less comparison. I’ve never gone to a game, concert or movie and compared myself to those around me. We were all too busy enjoying the experience!
Erica Layne says
Absolutely. I hadn’t thought of some of these before, and I especially appreciated your reference to mindfulness and the “wandering mind is an unhappy mind.” That really struck me today. Thank you, Joshua!
Krista O'Reilly-Davi-Digui says
Thinking back to when I was first building my nest and my kids were younger – we really did not have any money for experiences like concerts or travel. Sometimes small purchases led to joyful experiences & happy memories – a movie or audiobook we watched/listened to together over and over; art supplies that they created with and valued; a pajama ride to get ice cream when it was dark outside, books they loved and we read aloud together, a picnic at the lake, music lessons and an instrument to practice on (this one was harder and certainly required saving).
I am not opposed to some things – in fact, books, art supplies, and instruments have been a central part of our family and raising creative children. But these were very purposeful purchases and even if we couldn’t offer our kids grandiose experiences, these provided years of happiness:)
Francine Michel says
Yes! Books, sandbox, art supplies, music, Lego – not all of us can go off to the park, museum, wherever, but meaningful purchases can add so much to life! (And not all of us – or even our children – yearn for grandiose experiences.)
Edith Schwartz says
A lot of my best memories include being in nature, hiking, camping. I have few memories of receiving gifts that I still remember. Long after the experiences are gone, the memories are still with me. The memories are in little ‘snapshot’ moments: dirt under my feet, creek water up to my knees and tiny pebbles moving around my toes, the buzz of various flying insects. It was all totally fascinating. I was totally in love with it all. Still am.
Pete Williams says
Great points…I have vivid memories of my uncle taking me to the 1979 World Series in Pittsburgh when I was 10. I have few memories of any material gifts or things I received when I was 10.