Yes, reducing wants is a major factor in happiness, but finally there will always be something that I want
If there's always something you want, where do you stop? It seems the key to happiness is to learn to live with that want, rather than try to satisfy a desire that can't be satisfied?
To me, saying "want nothing more" is as naive as someone saying "I want everything". FI means freedom from scarcity, not freedom from ownership. I don't look at people who buy $100,000 homes in the suburb -- and have to consider a 1 hour drive into the city to see friends or a show -- as being independent, even if they are free from wanting a house in the city. I view them as prescribed by their scarcity to a life separated from their mates and a vibrant culture. MMM, and presumably you, might ask if dining with friends and taking in novelties like arts and culture are truly worth spending money on, but to me the answer is obvious.
As somebody who's read a lot of MMM, I think your impression is mistaken. (At the very least, MMM hates commutes: he'd rather everyone live close to work and walk or bike everywhere.)
Everyone wants more, but more often doesn't lead to happiness due to hedonistic adaptation. His philosophy is not about being cheap: rather it is about carefully examining what really makes you happy and choosing to align your spending with that, which naturally leads most people choosing a more frugal path. (Also note: frugal != cheap)
What I took away from the MMM approach was that the fundamental idea is not to always ask whether things are "worth" spending money on, but rather that by freeing yourself from desire, you are richer in many ways. The financial one is sort of trivial: you will keep more and need less money. The more interesting, philosophical side has to do with what it means to be rich. If you define it as "the ability to do whatever you want", then you really can be as rich as you want just by playing mind tricks on yourself. It sounds kind of like Buddhism to me.
Yeah, I read that page. I wasn't familiar with Stoicism, but Buddhism sounds very similar in some respects:
"• What is the Second Noble Truth?
The second truth is that suffering is caused by craving and aversion. We will suffer if we expect other people to conform to our expectation, if we want others to like us, if we do not get something we want,etc. In other words, getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness. A lifetime of wanting and craving and especially the craving to continue to exist, creates a powerful energy which causes the individual to be born. So craving leads to physical suffering because it causes us to be reborn.
• What is the Third Noble Truth?
The third truth is that suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained; that true happiness and contentment are possible. lf we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time (not dwelling in the past or the imagined future) then we can become happy and free. We then have more time and energy to help others. This is Nirvana."
Yes, reducing wants is a major factor in happiness, but finally there will always be something that I want
If there's always something you want, where do you stop? It seems the key to happiness is to learn to live with that want, rather than try to satisfy a desire that can't be satisfied?