Living a Good Life: Virtues Replaced by Materialism
When you ask someone who is in their 20’s or 30’s — currently working and starting to build their career to pursue sustainability and financial security — about their own opinion on “living a good life”, what do you think their answer will be?
What we can get may be relative to the person’s point of view and their perception about how to live a good life. However, because of our postmodern perspective of life as we live today, and the influences that surround our decision-making process like commercialism, technology, and social media, there may be some similarities in their answers that define a good life.
We need to accept the fact that as we live in this generation, the concept of living the good life is related to the pursuit of success in terms of what you have and who you have become. If you ask, almost everyone in the working class would like to be promoted and climb the corporate ladder at any cost, at times what you value the most and your character are often on the life.
Marketers of big brands are highly successful in converting wants to needs to generate profit. Unfortunately, this created a culture of materialism as the defining measure of success.
The mindset of wanting more than what we have has been planted to desire for greater things. More savings, more in terms of promotions, more vacations, more achievements. The list goes on.
Pleasure and comfortability are also a part of the definition of having a good life, which is perfectly fine. And honestly, there is nothing wrong with pursuing these things for your own benefit.
But what if you want more? There goes the problem.
If we are to define that living a good life is based on having more, that leaves us wanting more. More things that money can buy. And this is quite problematic because we are chasing a moving target. You either get and want more, and in the process, are dismissing a lot of things in your life that is more significant than material things.
You might be ignoring important and intimate relationship. You might be choosing quick and now over the longevity of life and legacy.
Dr. Alex Pattakos told Psychology Today that years ago, the Greek philosophers encouraged us to live the so-called “good life,” but what they really meant was the complete life, the meaningful life.
They suggested, among other things, that we strive to build our character, virtues, or excellence. Importantly, they encouraged us to do so not only to benefit ourselves but also to benefit all of society.
Aristotle, for instance, believed that the greatest virtues are those that are most useful to others.
Slowly, the meaning of “Good Life’ which was previously geared towards the betterment of society has now shifted to individual success.
Now there is more competition than teamwork. There is more buying of branded things than charity. There is more instant gratification rather than valuing patience and hard work.
Finding one’s purpose and contributing to the greater good of all is one value that must be present in each and every one of us. We need to go back to the time where the communal well-being is a priority rather than succumb to the pull of being individualistic living in a materially-driven society.
Values like honesty at work, loyalty to family, respectfulness to elders in the community, compassionate to those in need, fairness in every decision can make life more meaningful.
The effects of this spread throughout one’s circle of friends, family, community, and workplace. Finding happiness and joy over the little things can bring contentment and dismiss overconsumption.
These are the values that we can embrace in defining how to live a good life. And the positive effect can be shared by many, instead of benefiting only a few.
Don’t just aim for the superficial “Good Life”. Help others find meaning in their lives, and you will find yours as well.
