Considering a lot of excellent, practical perspective and advice has been shared, I am offering a perspective off the tangent.
Is this enough? - a question that has been haunting humans since he discovered rare, pretty objects. Of course, this question doesn't spare us with intangibles like happiness and success as well.
Let us dissect this:
1. How have I learnt to define life?
This has been evolving since generations. Every generation carries some traditions, beliefs, values and perspectives from its earlier one and adds on to it. This is not always detrimental; in fact, it is progressive. However, some aspects are often misunderstood or weakly defined - happiness, fun, success, security. These loosely formed constructs are used as a foundation to define life, which creates upheavals and dissatisfaction. This is beautifully depicted in the movie, "The Gods must be crazy". An empty cold drink bottle is discarded from a helicopter and is picked up by a man in the African jungle. When he discovers its novelty, use and beauty, it becomes an object of desire. He decides to throw it away when a child hits another with the bottle.
Many families reinforce success with materialism and many younsters amass wealth and materials not only to feel successful but also to live up to their parents' expectations of a successful life.
A friend of mine, would go drinking every weekend with his friends. He realized that his association of fun with drinking is not working out, especially when he quit drinking.
Many instances like this have proven that people, being people, try to redefine life only when it bites them in the back.
An interesting lesson that the lockdown has brought about is that we can survive without many things. We are inconvenienced, yet moving on. If we learn to differentiate between what we want and what we need (watch princess and the frog). It is surely difficult yet necessary and we may find some respite from investing in materalistic comfort.
2. Do I feel content with myself? (which manages comparison and peer pressure) - This is even trickier than the earlier one. My comment being posted on LinkedIn and expecting likes and appreciation is quite normal. But what happens when my comment is trashed?
Being liked, belonging to a group and held in high regard is a normal human expectation. And it's practically impossible to say that we don't care about anyone's opinion.
There is an entire world created around looking good. From innerwear to bags and even associating pens and cars to your personality, the need to look good is alright as long as you are not afraid of looking bad (if you don't have any of these pretty things)
However, it's a journey worth undertaking. The balancing act of being content yet ambitious is more adventure than you can ask for.
As far as borrowing money to buy stuff is concerned, it will only end up adding layers to our pseudo-definitions of life. The longer we wait to figure out who we really are, the more complex the puzzle will become.
