Clearing the Misconception Between Need and Want
As counterintuitive as it may sound, what we want should supersede what we need. What we need is a given. We cannot do without what we need most times, such as food, water, shelter, and co. However, what we want is an acquired taste of what would make life more liveable and comfortable. What we want is what we think we need to thrive more than mere survival. It is what would determine if we are happy or not. An example is having a career. If we want to have a career, it is because we need it to feel fulfilled, and to fend for ourselves while hoping to attain some form of stability through that. It is different from what we need: a job, to survive and make ends meet.
Therefore, when we speak of need versus want we must be sure about what we mean, as it goes a long way to ascertaining our satisfaction level with life.
Life is meant to be lived and not merely exist. The latter has more to do with breathing, making sure you’re eating and sleeping, plus having a shelter to shield you every night. Whereas wants to supersede this with other acquisitions. Note however, that as mere need may sound, it begs to express gratitude for it if you can afford one or more of the primary needs daily as there are lots of people out there who cannot dare to have wants due to the lack of basic human needs.
This short piece aims to redirect our minds to what’s crucial and what’s not. It enables us to ascertain what we need versus want to live our lives — in conjunction with how to survive — to strike a fine balance between both. Doing this enables us to live wholesomely albeit not getting all we want or the way we want them all the time.
Our wants span beyond material needs and desires. Most people will not hesitate to affirm that they want peace, freedom, authenticity, and wholesome living. They may mistake this as an inherent need, but there’s a clear difference. A need is inevitable, but a want is optional, it is by choice. You add or remove what you don’t want, but you can’t with what your existence as a human being needs.
Think about it.
