I want it, I need it, I gotta have it

Marketing sure is built around human nature.  Those who are the marketing gurus know that folks like me often tend to think in terms of:

1. I want it...
2. I need it...
3. I gotta have it...

Advertising is geared toward feeding that kind of thinking is it not?  Frankly, I fail to see how the really "stupid" ads accomplish that, but there may be some kind of science behind that as well.  At any rate the thrust of advertising is far from just informing us of information about products, etc.  It is more about feeding that sense of "I want it" in each of us and mega millions are spent doing just that.

Think about this for a minute.  We are all, at one time or another, guilty of spontaneous "getting" or buying.  And often that impulsive act is set off by some vision we have of ourselves that is far from the real me or you.  As we decide that we want it, need it, or gotta have it (whatever "it" is), we start to justify getting it, and rationalizing any ill effects obtaining it may have on us (financial, etc). 

I learned (the hard way) a long time ago that I am not a good "getter".  I am impulsive and do spontaneous stupid things far more often than I would like...especially when it comes to buying that next great brain wave I just had.  D-a-n-g-e-r-o-u-s ! 

A good friend once knew of me putting myself in a financial box by stupid spending "because I wanted it" and offered some wise advice.  I must have been somewhat lucid at the time, because it stuck, and has proven to be a financial life saver.  It was simple advice: 

"Don't cut yourself completely off.  Set a bottom limit, say $50.00.  If you find you are getting all sweaty about wanting or needing something that is over that limit, convince yourself that you can wait until tomorrow to buy it.  Then wait until tomorrow, and while doing so really think about how much of a priority whatever it is you want to buy might be....how it fits into the grand scheme of things."

Now I do that all the time, and in addition to thinking about it, I pray about it and I know that in this life there is really only one thing that I need...the quiet that comes from closeness with Christ.  All the stuff in the world can't replace that.