Limiting ideas

When we’re talking about tools, there’s another thing that usually crops up – you see, people who are used to thinking in terms of getting the maximum performance for the money have problems understanding the position of people who don’t have their monetary constraints, and who think in terms of getting the best thing for their needs regardless of cost. The usual comment is “more money than brains” or something along those lines.

It’s a tricky thing, because I understand both positions, and neither is without merit. Truly, there are people who routinely overspend on things and indulge in never-ending excesses, and none of it makes much sense. On the other hand, there are people who don’t understand that, if you can afford it, sometimes it makes much sense to spend more on equipment, especially if it’s the stuff you use every day, lasts many years, and you can obtain advantages that would otherwise not be available. You see, I’ve seen situations where other kids made fun of my son because he used a Macbook – the standard arguments were that it’s a computer for stupid people with money, and imagine what kind of a gaming machine you can get for that money, and so on. The next scene was kids with a Windows laptop waiting for the Windows update to finish and they need the machine for the presentation or they fail; you can imagine the panic and frustration. Oops, so it’s not actually for stupid people only, but also for people who absolutely need it to work in a mission-critical environment. Also, they laughed at him for having an iPhone because the battery is so much smaller than in their Android phones, but curiously they all seemed to constantly run out of battery before him.

Apparently, the danger in getting by with limited resources is when you start thinking in terms where everything better and more expensive than what you have is useless and those who can afford it are idiots for buying overpriced crap. Don’t go there, because it actually limits you, and you might actually impose artificial financial limits on yourself and not allow yourself to make money because money is for stupid losers. Instead, get by with what you can afford, but allow yourself to expand into something better when you can, because frequently the people who buy the stuff you can’t afford are very smart people who just happen to have money. The actually stupid stuff starts when people from low or middle income brackets think they’ll become rich if they overspend on rich people things, such as expensive clothes and trinkets. That’s the way to remain perpetually poor. However, buying high quality tools if you can afford them is always a good idea, and is almost always going to pay off in the long run. If it is more reliable, faster, quieter, less quirky, integrates better between many devices, puts less strain on your body while you work with it, and just gets out of the way and allows you to do your thing, it’s probably worth it. If it creates additional problems for you, you might want to migrate away. Also, I’m almost always against taking loans and for buying everything with cash, but tools you use to do work and make money might be an exception I’m willing to make. Tools are productivity multipliers, if it’s something you actually need and are more productive with, and not only the new shiny gadgety thingy you desire. Tools are also idiosyncratic, so don’t make fun of someone who bought an expensive guitar that just “feels right” for him, even if it feels psychological. The feeling you have when using something that’s “right” might put your psyche in the “right” place and allow you to really spread your wings. However, don’t delude yourself into thinking that you will obtain skill by buying stuff. You won’t. If you can’t code on a cheap computer, you won’t do any better on the most expensive one. If you can’t make nice pictures using a smartphone, buying the most sophisticated medium format system won’t make any difference.

So, basically, don’t get into a place where you think all beautiful women and rich people must be stupid or morally corrupt. It’s a really shitty coping mechanism that is closely related to envy, and is of no use to anyone. Rather, be free to acknowledge what is worthy, and to aspire to better and greater things. Sure, some assholes are rich, but God is also rich (if owning the entire reality counts). Some stupid whores are beautiful, but female angels and Gods are also beautiful. Don’t spit in the direction where you want to be heading.

2 thoughts on “Limiting ideas

  1. Whoa, I actually evolved … I do not do loans for cameras any more 🙂

    I still have overspending issues, but some of those issues are hardly avoidable because problems are discovered only after purchase.
    Some of those issues needs addressing, though.

    However, on the other side, there are stuff I bought simply to try them out first hand, like iPad Pro M1 – I had no actual use of it at the moment of purchase and it looked like a waste of money, but in the end, I use it quite a lot because it turned out to be incredibly versatile and powerful machine.

    What changed is my mental state when I see someone with something significantly better than what I have – I actually ask questions “how would that thing improve my everyday life, what problems would it solve, would it introduce new problems I currently do not have, how much effort would it require to acquire it and how those things balance in the end”.
    It’s a bit different than “I want” 🙂 And even if it is “I want”, I still ask “Why do I want it” – which turned out to be quite important question 🙂

    And lastly, some things can be questionable like buying thermal scope for 5k eur for hunting predators.
    Which makes no sense. However, it gets me out several times a week, usually in woods in the dark which by itself forced me to solve bunch of internal issues and fears and still not done with those – how do you even put a price on that?!

    Also, if I am to do fox hunting, I want to do it with best tool available, even though there is zero financial gain from it.
    Problem is, I loose too much money when changing gear, I usually sell under-price to friends which is ok here and there, but it seems it is an issue I have to work on since I do it too often on my expense – sure, helping friends out looks like a noble goal, but vanity in leaving impression I have more money than I actually have to “buy” better social position – not so much.

    Funny how easy it is to mask those ugly things with “noble goals” …

    • When I think about what I want to achieve by buying things, the answer is either a really simple one (I want shoes that are as good as the current ones, minus the holes) or a very complicated rabbit hole – basically, it’s not about the thing itself, but the meaning of the thing. For instance, a very expensive car means having enough money that all my financial problems are solved forever, and I have a huge budget for non-essential things after everything important has been taken care of. That’s why buying it now would be counterproductive – it’s not a symbol of problems solved, but money drain that produces more problems in addition to the current ones.
      I have many such “milestone things” I have to guard myself against, because it is inherent in human nature to think magically and try to produce a situation by obtaining the symptoms – basically, think you’ll be wealthy if you buy all the stuff wealthy people have. That’s why LVMH, Rolex, Apple and the like are so profitable, from all the poor and middle-class people wanting to look rich.

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