The fault is in our stars

...Or in other words, our nature is predetermined.

We all like to believe we are capable of rational and logical thinking, when in fact we often make decisions based on feelings and not logic at all. We make purchase decisions all the time based primarily on feelings. When was the last time you made an impetuous purchase decision which felt right at first but after a few days time you regretted? What you purchased at that moment isn't about the product nor its features but rather how it made you feel.

A good example of this phenomenon is what drives people to purchase luxury goods. After all, there are plenty of other economically sound alternatives that are functionally identical to their luxury counterparts. To put it simply, what separates luxury goods from the latter is merely the brand name and what it represents to the individual who purchased it. What other reasons does the rational individual have to justify the massive price differential?

One likely scenario is that someone will buy luxury brands because they “feel” it will increase their social status though few would be willing to admit it. But what exactly is a social status? A “social status” by definition, is a person’s standing or importance in relation to others within a society. Just as your father’s social status would have more significance to you than myself, we can conclude that a social status is all relative and quite personal. Moreover, I’m sure most would agree that it cannot be bought. So why do rational individuals often fool themselves into thinking the latter? That’s because the perceived increase in social status is only in their heads!

Confidence and pride are two desirable feelings that a buyer of a status symbol commonly associates with their purchase. However, on the other end of the spectrum, making a bad purchase based on fear, guilt, or shame (or the avoidance of them) also isn't unheard of. The fear of missing out “on the rocket to the moon" when you are eyeing the rising prices of cryptocurrencies which led to your impetuous “investment” at a less than ideal entry point. Or the fear of judgment when you don't tip at a restaurant are two specific examples of how often we end up letting our emotions dictate our actions.

If you were thinking “as long as it makes them happy, why does it matter?” then you’d have also proven me correct.

Everyone is at the center of their universe

Whether it be a brand or product, our brains are constantly assigning relative value subconsciously to everything we come into contact within our lives. Our brains employ a mechanism that ranks everything in our lives in order to draw an “associations” to ourselves. In other words, our brain is constantly asking the question of “how this object relates to me?” without us realizing it.

In a world where we are constantly bombarded with huge amounts of information at an ever-increasing rate, our brains help us cope by filtering out or blocking all the irrelevant information from our lives (whether it be a person, place or thing). And since everyone’s filter is unique to them, it is through this highly personal process we begin to form our unique identities.

We assign relative values subconsciously based on two key factors: How often we come into contact with said object and how the object makes us feel. This is the same reason why the less you come into contact with a relative, the more distant they become. My forgotten Gameboy in the bottom of my drawer is less valuable to me than my newly purchased Nintendo Switch even though there was a time when the Gameboy was my prized possession and I’d play it almost daily. Even though it still works, I felt less and less inclined to play with it the more it sat in my drawers.

Items ranking highest in relative value includes objects with sentimental values. Sentimental belongings are unique to each individual and thus highly personal. The experience and story associated with the items are what makes them valuable to the individual but means little to everyone else. This is also what makes the statement “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” ever so true.

Closing note

Do not be mistaken that I’m devaluing the significance of doing what makes you happy; rather, I wish to make a point that we often make decisions based on our emotions and feelings rather than logic. Understanding that emotions may muddle our judgment will help us make informed decisions in the future. After all, the ability to be self-aware is what separates us from animals and makes us better human beings.