The value of things and the habituation process.
Why do we place so little value on things that have been given to us for free ?
The simple answer is that we equate the effort that it takes to acquire an object with its value.
The things that we struggle for, we value more, the things we get at birth for free, like our brains, don't get the same appreciation.
Our health, our body, our friends, our families and our loving partners, fall into the banal, given enough habituation time. We get used to them as they are available to us all the time. There is no struggle to keep them around, so their value depreciate in our eyes.
We run after things that offer resistance, things that look hard to get, thinking that their value would be superior.
Our issue sometimes lies in our "adaptation" process. This process helps us getting used to new environments, but it also might make the most valuable “object” look mundane and normal.
When we get "habituated" to a task, our brain uses less energy to perform it so that it can focus on new undertakings that require more focus.
It is the reason why we can talk while driving and eat while walking. These processes are internalized, so we don't have to spend a lot of resources performing them.
This habituation process extends beyond individual tasks to our entire perception of value and meaning in life.
Our health, our body, our friends, our families and our loving partners, fall into the banal, given enough habituation time. We get used to them as they are available to us all the time. There is no struggle to keep them around, so their value depreciate in our eyes.
We run after things that offer resistance, things that look hard to get, thinking that their value would be superior.
Our issue sometimes lies in our "adaptation" process. This process helps us getting used to new environments, but it also might make the most valuable “object” look mundane and normal.
When we get "habituated" to a task, our brain uses less energy to perform it so that it can focus on new undertakings that require more focus.
It is the reason why we can talk while driving and eat while walking. These processes are internalized, so we don't have to spend a lot of resources performing them.
This habituation process extends beyond individual tasks to our entire perception of value and meaning in life.
When something becomes automatic or expected, we stop to consciously appreciating it, even when it is objectively precious.
The morning coffee that once brought us enormous joy becomes routine, the partner who once made our heart skip becomes familiar, the health we took for granted only reveals its worth when weakened.
This creates a situation where we are simultaneously surrounded by abundance yet feel a persistent sense of lack, always seeking the next challenge or acquisition as the already "acquired" things fall into the banal.
Value isn't a corollary of difficulty or scarcity. Breaking free from this pattern requires intentionally paying attention to our habituation process, regularly reflecting on what we have. Sometimes the most valuable things aren't the ones we chase, but the ones we already have, but we have stopped noticing them.
Value isn't a corollary of difficulty or scarcity. Breaking free from this pattern requires intentionally paying attention to our habituation process, regularly reflecting on what we have. Sometimes the most valuable things aren't the ones we chase, but the ones we already have, but we have stopped noticing them.
Comments
Post a Comment