fewer wants equals more freedom

We can’t deny the truth that when we curb our desires and limit our wants, we not only free up our precious resources — our time, attention and energy — but we also gain more freedom.

In today’s world, we are all slaves to our wants, which are further fueled by countless temptations, advertisements and the seductive forces of commercialism that prevail in society today. We mistake our desires and the items in our wish lists as our needs, and keep working relentlessly to fulfill them even if it involves giving away our precious resources and our freedom.

It’s akin to slavery in ancient times, however, the tyranny that we subject ourselves to in the modern world today is actually self-inflicted. Just think how drastically things would change if you let go of your unnecessary wants and keep a check on your desires. You would be able to let go of that hectic job and that controlling boss and find a better work environment. You would be able to move out of the city you’re in right now and spend time at a place that you have always wanted to be in. You’ll be immune to current trends and fads and let go of the cycle of compulsive buying. You’ll be less affected by the critics that lurk in our society and spend more time doing things that you truly love. Right now, you may not be able to do these things because certain people have power over you and this power only exists because of your wants. Hence, the best way to change the current scenario is to cut off your wants; once you do that, the chains are off and you’re free.

As Socrates said, “The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”

One thing that we can remember is having more wants means we need more money in order to fulfill them, and wanting more money basically makes us a servant to the people who have it.

Serve others with a meaningful purpose and a noble cause. A good thing that comes out of this approach is that we retain our personal power and protect our freedom. But when we serve others so that we are able to extract money out of them in order to fulfill our wants, we end up losing our power.

Choose the way of less because only that leads us to true freedom.