But Will It Make You Happy?

Good seed. People need to be content with what they have, rather than always wanting more and more.

Long article...

I think that the majority of their happiness came not from consuming less, but from getting rid of the T.V.. It sucks up time and doesn't give anything back. Nothing else that you could possibly do with your time is so completely worthless as watching T.V. is. I believe that a sense of accomplishment is vital to feeling good about yourself and what you've done with your life. Nobody ever thinks back and is grateful that they sat in front of the tube watching T.V. a year after the fact... nobody on their deathbed ever said "gee I wish I had watched more T.V.". I brought up the idea of pitching out our T.V. to my wife just this last week, but she's not going for it, not even on a trial basis.

If you just add up the hours of the week... 168

Subtract 6-8 hours a day for sleep (we'll go with 7 as an average)... 49

Subtract the hours most people work, INCLUDING commuting both ways (we'll say 1 hour per day, average) AND time to get ready for work in the mornings (another hour average)... 50

Subtract out time for cooking/eating dinner, laundry, dishes, basic house chores... We'll just say that takes around 13 hours a week...

Now you're left with 56 hours of free time, and how many hours a day do you watch T.V.? The average is 4 hours a day or 28 per week... or HALF of your free time... eliminate the T.V. and you can accomplish twice as much as you do now.

Of course, eliminate chatting on Newsvine and I could accomplish 3x as much as I do now, lol.

Interesting seed. The couple featured in the article definitely take it to an extreme but the message is one my grandparents always said: once your basic or essential needs are covered, be careful about what else you choose to make your life fulfilled.

My brother got caught up in a job loss a few years back; lucky that he got a replacement one that though it paid about 40% less. He was proactive enough to change his lifestyle before it consumed him. The 3500 sq ft McMansion became a 1350 sq ft ranch. The new Acura became a 4 year old Civic. The cruises became fishing camps. When you look at it, he didn't give up much, only degrees of what he initially had. As a bonus, he now has the flexibility in his life to work on starting up a business. He's much happier today then 3 years ago.

Less was definitely more for him.

There is a government assistance check in here somewhere or soon will be.