What Do You Need To Survive?

Often times we get caught up in all the things we want. We want a new car, a new house, a new job, more money, etc. Not often do we ask ourselves, what do we need? People often misconstrue the two. They will think or say, I need this, when really it is a want. If you look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, you can get a sense of what you need vs what you want.

So, we probably need a lot less than we think. However, a lot of us want to have a good standard of living. So, how I like to look at things is, what do I need to have or make, to have an “good life”. Nothing crazy, just good, I usually break that down into a dollar amount. I do this because I can get a sense of, if all else goes wrong, or I do not like the situation I am in, I know I could live on this much, from a certain career field and be alright. This would allow me to take care of my family, have good food and water, have a good place to live, reliable vehicle to drive, friends and family to spend time with, hobbies I like to partake in, an ability to go on a couple trips or vacations a year, and be able to save and invest for the future.

If you can get a sense of what that would look like, you are able to break away from some fears behind taking action. If you are able to drive this “survive” number down more, you can go after your dreams faster. What I am getting at is, if you do not like the spot you are in, maybe you do not like the job you are at. How much do you need to “survive,” can you adjust somethings to lower that amount? Are we able to take a different job, to do something you would rather be doing, and still make enough to survive? If so, maybe it is worth considering that.

We tend to let keeping up with the Joneses prevent us from living the life we would be happy living. We are concerned with what they will think of us. We are concerned about having the right car and the right house, in the right neighborhood, over being happy in life. If you know what you can get by with, it can be a freeing feeling to go after what you want.

Your life Tutor

-Shaun Tutor