We do so much just to keep up, why not reduce our needs so we free ourselves from having to do so much?

It’s definitely possible to strip down our “needs” to the bare essentials. Every in-camp training (in the Singapore military) that has an outfield component confirms that.

So why not do it? Why am I not going through the deliberate thinking and acting to reduce my daily needs?

A few plausible reasons, some more than others:

• (Psy) We have a sadomasochistic relationship with being busy
• (Psy) Work is the only way we know, in modern society, to live out a meaningful life
• (Psy) We believe there’s no way to live a decent life in modern society without constantly striving for more like everyone else does
• (Psy) We like being deceived into doing things we know won’t come true but keeps us dreaming (like being able to retire young and never worry about money ever again if only we worked as an investment banker)
• (Practical) We’ve just been too busy to set aside any time to do this important work. It just drowned in our sea of todos
• (Superstition) We believe it’s a natural way of human life
• (Genetics) Unlike other animals, we have it in our nature to keep wanting more

Is it possible?

What would the outcome be?

Will we miss the old ways? Especially since we’ve grown up with it?