Gratitude to Cure the Impulse to Buy More Stuff

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It’s funny that two days with such opposing spirits come back-to-back in our calendars here in the United States: Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

One is about being thankful for what you have and the other is about getting more of what you don’t have. They aren’t aligned at all.

The good news is that we can use our thankfulness to overcome the urges to buy a lot of stuff—these urges being created in us by the corporations and purveyors of consumerism. We don’t have to listen to their messages of needing more things at discount (as if spending our money or getting into debt is “saving” money) or needing to buy things for our loved ones to show our love for them.

We can counter these messages with gratitude:

1. I’m grateful for what I already have, for the life I’m already living … and so I don’t need more. I can save much more by just not buying anything, and finding joy and contentedness in what I already have.
2. We can show our love for people not by buying them stuff, but by showing our gratitude for them being in our lives: sending them thoughtful letters or notes, giving hugs, spending time with them, playing games indoors and outdoors with them.

We don't have to listen to messages of needing more things or needing to buy things for our loved ones to show our love for them. Stephen Chernin/Getty Images