Need or Desire?
Is my WANT my NEED or my DESIRE? Sounds confusing? A little mixed up, more of an emotion?
Easy to say you understand this but when you introspect you would realise that you actually don't. It is a fundamental question which we end up misinterpreting.
It is more like a natural transformation and nothing more than that. It is a normal phenomenon.
What is important to understand is the CONSEQUENCE. Let me narrate a short story of a corporate professional here.
There was a engineer, who joined a corporate house, straight out of college. Coming from a very middle class family had a motor cycle before and always dreamt of having a better motorcycle. First salary & this boy buys a motorcycle on EMIs (a liability). Ask him, he feels it is an achievement. Well, great that his capacity ensured him he pays of the EMIs in time.
A couple of years pass by and now, looking at his cousins he realised that he must have a car, he needs it for regular commute to office. Hmm, now that is interesting. He ends up buying a car on EMIs again and happy about it as he promoted himself from 2 wheels to 4 wheels and can take his family around as well.
Here was it a need or a desire? Think about it.
Another couple of years pass by and he gets married. More responsibilities, more expenses, a lot more to manage. Now, as the car he had was a basic car, its time to move on to a better car. He ends up buying a small but a higher end car. Well, not too bad to have a better social status, but along with his salary the EMI amount has proportionately increased.
Now, here begins the VICIOUS cycle of Need Vs. Desire. Few more years pass by and now he has kids, which makes him believe that a bigger car is required to carry his family around and to go on long trips. Ends up buying a double cost car, of course at a double EMI. But, still thinking that it was need. Today he travels in the same big car to office and all alone. Only once or twice a year whole family (including parents) travel to some place. There are tons of other alternates available to make this travel with family. But, own bigger car was the need (as per him).
And by the way this isn't a story of only one thing, this happened with TV, Music system, motorbike, house and what not. Earning 7,000 at one point of time to more than a lakh, significant increase in income, but more significant increase in expenses.
Do you see the SILENT TRANSFORMATION of his DESIRE to his misinterpreted NEED? There are bad times in industry, people getting fired, positions getting reduced. This Desire to NEED transformation puts people under tremendous STRESS. Most of these people might be greatly capable, but this STRESS suppresses their capability and people get under greater stress. If only Desires were not transformed to needs, any situation handling would not be as difficult as it may seem.
Can you relate the same somewhat to yourself ? I believe this is the story of at least 90% of us if not more.
The only message is, we must consciously keep introspecting our NEED, whether we have our most unreasonable desire as misinterpreted need? As far as it is inexpensive it is fine, but when it becomes extravagant, BE CAREFUL....
Stay Strong & Move on,
Rohit