Originally Posted by slvoid
I don't know how people do it because myself, while I try to maintain a good outlook, at heart, I am materialistic and I deeply envy those who make do with what they have and are happy with it. No worries, no complains, they just live life with what they have.
One of the probems as I see it is a lot of people have trouble distinguishing between needs, wants, and excessive luxury. For regular exercise and commuting, I need a $300 bike, I want a $900 bike, and I dream about a $6000 bike. The problem is that as soon as I am within reach of the next one up, I get antsy, impatient, and needy again.
If you were materialistic, shouldn't you be envying those that have more than you? Also, i'd say I have no problem distinguishing them ... I just choose to ignore the distinction and get the things that will make me the happiest without impacting some other aspect of my life negatively. I agree with you though that it's in our nature to always want the next step up from where we're at ... I guess depending on how you look at it that's a good thing though.