Push and Pull

     Everyone knows of "the one who got away". At some point or another we, as human beings, want something. We desire to obtain a person, an item, a position, a piece of information. The problem is, we can't always have what we want. More importantly than rejection itself is what it does to the rejected party.

     What do you want more than anything else? what is the "would be light of your life"? Is it that new luxury convertible? or perhaps the bombshell in the cubicle over? Here's the rub: is that thing easily obtained? Almost always the answer is: no, it is not. Why is that? Here is the reason: people want what they cant have.

     Many are aware of the classic little brother "reverse psychology" scenario; the big brother wants the little brother to stop copying him so he says to his brother: "keep copying me please. I love the way it sounds like an echo". The little brother immediately stops copying him. This is because suddenly, he is supposed to copy his brother and it is no longer fun anymore.

     As funny as this is, listen to what helium blogger and professional writer, Paul Lines has to say: "In reality, the desire to want what we cannot have is something that has been embedded within the human psyche since man first walked the earth. The desire to be an equal, if not superior to others, is something that has always been with us. Look at the wars that have occurred because leaders wanted what they could not have, therefore decided to take it by force."

     So what does all this mean? It means we have cleverly created a malicious disease of the mind whose soul purpose is to keep us from being happy. We created it to give us an excuse. An excuse for why we cannot possibly be content. how much attention does one get if he/she were to never complain, not once vent about what they want, never show desire for the unattainable. Thus we devised this mental conditioning to keep everyone trying to get more.

   Who is to blame? The truth is there are countless sources for our feelings of inadequacy: the media, peers, boredom, a cutting edge based society, and the need for self achievement are among the top reasons.  Instead of focusing on pointing fingers, perhaps we ought to examine a solution.

   To sum up the purpose of this article, I leave you with this challenge: next time you are about to say "if only..." stop. Stop and consider, why do I need this? why do I want it? could I be just as happy without it? The answers might surprise you.