Confusing Objects with Feelings?
Do you really want that car or do you simply want the feelings associated with owning a car. Are you confusing objects or outcomes with feelings?
In a car you really just need a comfortable and reliable way to go from point A to point B. Do you really need that Mustang or the Prius? Do you really need that new house, or do you simply want the feelings you get from owning such a house?
The feelings we feel when we buy stuff are fleeting. No sooner than we buy that new pair of shoes, we are out at the shopping mall again looking for our next fix.
Confusing objects and outcomes with feelings is very common, and this confusion is exacerbated by television marketing.
If you want a certain feeling, there are more direct paths to obtaining these feelings. For example, visualization, role-playing, acting, and various forms of thinking control.
Usually we just want to distract ourselves from feeling sad or angry. Yet we forget that it is our own dysfunctional thinking that causes this emotional pain. Better to attack the root of the problem and cure our thinking errors, rather than buy the new house and put our finances in jeopardy.
