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What drinking Coca-Cola taught me about needs vs. wants
The monsoon in Nepal isn’t pouring as it used to in past years. And the summer is intolerable even in Kathmandu.
I quit drinking beer 7 years ago. So, drinking chilled Coca-Cola has been a favorite activity this summer.
In these 2-3 months my family has consumed about 20L of Coca-Cola. On most days the act of buying a bottle is driven by “It’s been hot, let’s have a Jumbo.”
Everything consumed unmoderated is bad for health. I know it. But, more than anything else some days I want the Jumbo so bad that I feel anxious about not having it.
My body weight is a little over 90Kgs. It’s bad for my health. I don’t need it.
But I want it.
And that’s how you surrender to your wants and forgot about everything else.
I was thinking about the habit of buying a Jumbo bottle of Coca-Cola lately and this lead me to a realization that my wants are in the wild.
And I started thinking deeply about what are wants and what are needs.
A need is something that is necessary to live and function. A want is something that can improve your quality of life.
Needs are necessities or essentials. Wants are desires.
Needs are essential for survival. Needs do not change over time.
Not fulfilled needs can have adverse effects on life. However, not addressed wants might cause mental distress.
Needs are basic to humans, almost all humans have similar needs. However, wants might be different for different individuals.
It’s clear that we should act as per needs vs. on the whim of wants.
But, why are wants so powerful?
Why do you make irrational decisions based on your wants?
Why are your habits driven more by wants than by your true needs?
Let’s think about this from the first principle.
Habit builds from the action.
Action comes from wisdom.
Wisdom comes from knowledge.
Knowledge comes from understanding.
Understanding comes from information.
Information comes from your attention.
And, you give attention to what you want.
So if your wants are unchecked, you are sure to build habits that might not be in sync with your realities.
Each person is different.
Their wants are driven by their unique experiences and emotions.
Some just want entertainment.
Some want to feel good.
Some want adventures.
And we can’t always find a reason why someone wants something.
I don’t need Coca-cola, but I want it.
And, most of the time people do or buy things driven by their wants.
So next time you start wondering why people do a certain thing, try to understand that wants are in the wild.
That’s all for today.
Hope you got some insights from reading this post.
-Bhupal
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What drinking Coca-Cola taught me about needs vs. wants
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