Parwy's Blog: The Disease of More: Why You Feel Unhappy, Lost, Addicted & Stressed - Dr Rangan Chatterjee with Joshua Fields Milburn

Consumerism is the ideology that acquiring more material goods will lead to happiness, a belief that falsely suggests joy is embedded in external objects rather than pre-existing within us.
Society suffers from a disease of more, where the constant desire for better jobs, cars, and promotions drives individuals to overwork, leading to stress and physical illness.
Many people attempt to fill an internal void with relationships, substances, or material possessions, but this consumption fails to satisfy the emptiness and often results in significant debt.
Modern culture obsessively tracks countables such as square footage, bank balances, and social media followers, often ignoring the unmeasurables like joy, contentment, and grief that truly shape a meaningful life.
The concept of the 'pursuit of happiness' can be problematic, as it frames happiness as a distant endpoint to be chased rather than a state of being.

We often adorn ourselves with material goods—such as cars, houses, and designer clothes—to signal our identity and project a specific image of success to the world.
Identity clutter occurs when we hold onto items that represent a past self or a role we no longer fulfil, such as a musician who no longer plays keeping their instruments simply to maintain the label of 'musician'.
Standard social introductions, like asking 'What do you do?', are frequently used to place people on a socioeconomic ladder rather than to understand their true passions or character.
Letting go of possessions is often difficult because we are terrified of losing the identity or story attached to the object, rather than the object itself.

The 90/90 Rule: To determine if an item is necessary, ask if you have used it in the last 90 days and if you will use it in the next 90 days; if the answer is no, give yourself permission to let it go.
The 30/30 Rule: For any non-essential purchase over $30, wait at least 30 hours before buying to ensure the decision is not an impulse driven by momentary desire.
The Spontaneous Combustion Rule: Ask yourself if you would feel relieved if a specific item were to instantly disappear; if the answer is yes, it is likely clutter that should be removed.
The No Junk Rule: Categorise possessions into essentials, value-adding non-essentials, and junk; recognise that most accumulated stuff falls into the 'junk' category and does not add value.
The 30-Day Minimalism Game: A gamified method where partners remove one item on the first day, two on the second, and so on, progressively clearing hundreds of items over the course of a month.

Every possession carries a true cost beyond its price tag, including the time, energy, and stress required to store, clean, maintain, protect, and worry about it.
Holding onto unused items is a form of selfishness, as it deprives others of the value those items could provide if they were donated or sold to someone who needs them.
Buying items solely because they are on sale (referred to as the fool's price) often leads to spending more money on unnecessary goods rather than saving, as the best way to save 100% is to leave the item at the store.
Physical clutter, such as a box of clothes waiting to be returned, imposes a daily 'invisible cost' of annoyance and mental load that accumulates over time.

We often desire the feeling of wanting something (the desire itself) more than the actual object; acquiring the object often extinguishes the desire and can lead to immediate discontent.
Comparison is described as a form of mental illness that steals joy, whereas experiencing true joy in the present moment extinguishes the need to compare oneself to others.
Minimalism is not about deprivation but about the amplification of spaciousness, removing distractions to make room for health, relationships, and contribution.
A core maxim for a meaningful life is to love people and use things, as attempting to love things and use people inevitably leads to unhappiness.