Just Last Night, my little daughter kept pulling me to the fridge to ask me for Ice cream. Now there is nothing wrong with ice cream is there??But at 11p.m. (well past bedtime) on a heavily rainy and cold day it’s potentially disastrous. Now we grown ups know that don’t we? But for a child its still the best thing in the world and not getting what she wanted makes her cranky and irritable. I try hard to distract her attention from it but all in vain. I actually had to drag her to bed…and even then she kept at it…she couldn’t stop crying and saying ice cream ice-cream…finally after much ado she did fall asleep. What she needed was to go to sleep, but what she wanted was ice cream!
Wants and needs are a funny thing, All our lives we are battling in our heads between these too facts. How often have we gone to a store and looked at something and thought “ohh I want that, its gorgeous!”? And, How often have we gone to a store and thought “Ohh I need that!”? Sometimes it’s a wonder, we have actually grown up..cause our thinking patterns are still mostly childish when it comes to the fine things we want. If you must’ve noticed your thinking pattern, you will realize that your mind first always tricks you into thinking about your Wants and then your Needs. Whereas, your needs are more important than your wants.
You need water, but you want coke instead.
You need food, but you want fries instead.
You need air, but you want air conditioning instead.
There is nothing wrong with wants, cause to some extent they are the driving force for which we might be working so hard. But here I am talking about unnecessary, unhealthy, and self indulgent wants.
The internal conflict between our needs and wants is a never ending process. So, how do we think above it? Is there a way? Ofcourse there is. There is always a way if we choose to find it. Below are three steps I have found work like a charm. These steps have been tried on a group of individuals, and all came out with flying colors. But of course, practice is the key.
Small steps towards self improvement with huge benefits.
3 Steps to overcoming your unnecessary wants:
1. Consciously know what it is that you truly need.
2. Think twice (maybe more) before you act on your wants.
3. After making your choice in your mind-Think again by weighing your pros and cons
MOST IMPORTANTLY-
Always remember-
Your Needs Acted Upon Will NOT Give You A Guilty Conscience! But your wants on the other hand…might just creep up on you…
Attaining selflessness and rising above trivial wants is never easy, but its the need to do so that makes it so attainable.We need to be able to look within ourselves and put ON the light of the heart for the right path.
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Positive Provocations 