Why the need and desire to Show-off?

Will Smith once said, “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like”. This quote has become a reality especially in today’s world in which big cars and luxury gadgets are mostly brought to show your neighbour that you are doing well off in your life. There is complete absence of ‘prioritising’ and ‘living within oneself’. With this, life has become much more complicated than it was earlier. A lot of materialism has crept in our minds and it simply has put pressure on us to earn big so that we can spend it big time. I mean people today are driven by a rage to impress others, proving a point or two, keeping up with the pace in social circles. I fail to comprehend this, because you get highly worked up earning the money and then fret over the ways to spend it. I believe none of those activities give you the satisfaction which you secretly crave for.

I know a lot of men who say ‘My image will take a beating if I drive a small car’; ‘I need to buy an expensive phone to suit my status’. I cannot figure out why he perceives that his image will be judged on the basis of his car or his phone or other expensive possessions and not his character. As a result, those men want a bigger car which puts in a lot of pressure on his finances and in the process there are no savings. All this, just for the sake of impressing the people who see them for two minutes arriving and departing. This disease to impress spreads rather quickly. Same is the case with women, they buy high end clothes, bags and what not just to keep up in their respective social circles. Their worth is in congruence to their material holdings. Even in marriages people look for a bride/groom who has achieved big academically or professionally and not look for the character, his/her values, other qualities etc. which I believe are more important than anything else. This is nothing but a rat race.

This desire to impress others stems from a kind of an ‘insecurity’ which many people suffer from. They need admiration or a sort of an approval from their friends and others to put to rest all the self doubts and the lack of self esteem that they carry with them all the time. It is also interesting to note that some people do not wish to show off but are forced to do so because of the unspoken rules. Like for most of the other things in our country, we wait for someone else to assume the mantle for us and do things for which we have a strong inclination to do so. 

And studies have proven the fact that people who are more attracted towards amassing material wealth for indulging in ‘show-off’ lack satisfaction and mostly they keep on complaining about how others have a better wife, children, car etc and much more. These people live in a cocoon and a prison surrounded by their own perceptions. They think have ‘a life’ but they seriously need ‘to get a life’.

We, as human beings constantly need to evolve and look into areas to improve ourselves and this is where we can probably help ourselves by just confining ourselves to our own needs and remain satisfied, happy and contented in life. Money can buy you most things but not satisfaction and happiness. And happiness is the true essence of life. The actual joy of life is in being what you are.