Apple Watch — Only for AED 70/-
Really? Is that the true cost? Or does it cost more, way more — eventually?
Isn’t it a beauty? Isn’t it like a piece of Tech that every wrist would desire? Isn’t it like a gadget that even James Bond would envy? And if it’s available at AED 70/- per month only, THAT’S A STEAL 🤩 No wonder you feel like — You Must Own One Too !!!
No problem, Go Ahead and Get One if that makes you happy. But know one thing for sure, it will cost you more. Let me explain with the story of Denis Diderot from James Clear’s blog post on the same.
The famous French philosopher Denis Diderot lived nearly his entire life in poverty, but that all changed in 1765.
Diderot was 52 years old and his daughter was about to be married, but he could not afford to provide a dowry. Despite his lack of wealth, Diderot’s name was well-known because he was the co-founder and writer of Encyclopédie, one of the most comprehensive encyclopedias of the time.
When Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia, heard of Diderot’s financial troubles she offered to buy his library from him for £1000 GBP, which is approximately $50,000 USD in 2015 dollars. Suddenly, Diderot had money to spare.
Shortly after this lucky sale, Diderot acquired a new scarlet robe. That’s when everything went wrong.
Diderot’s scarlet robe was beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that he immediately noticed how out of place it seemed when surrounded by the rest of his common possessions. In his words, there was “no more coordination, no more unity, no more beauty” between his robe and the rest of his items. The philosopher soon felt the urge to buy some new things to match the beauty of his robe.
He replaced his old rug with a new one from Damascus. He decorated his home with beautiful sculptures and a better kitchen table. He bought a new mirror to place above the mantle and his “straw chair was relegated to the antechamber by a leather chair.”
These reactive purchases have become known as the Diderot Effect.
The Diderot Effect states that obtaining a new possession often creates a spiral of consumption which leads you to acquire more new things. As a result, we end up buying things that our previous selves never needed to feel happy or fulfilled.
It’s not the Apple Watch that will cost you more. What will cost you more is your willingness to buy it on EMI of AED 70 instead of cash down. It’s a small amount, doesn’t hurt, so why not indulge. And there goes the CC Swipe, the shopkeeper or Apple itself was salivating upon 🤠
And since you have done this with the Watch, why not upgrade the Computer too. MacBook is available at only AED 250/- a month for the next 3 years. THAT’S A STEAL AGAIN🤩
Now that you have the expensive, top of the line Macbook, you must have a carry case for the same instead of letting it struggle amongst others in your shoulder bag. You definitely don’t want it to get scratched in any way, since you’ve heard that the ghost of Steve Jobs will haunt you for that crime. It’s time to go to Amazon.com for a cover case. Check the link for some kickass designs, ONLY costing between AED 50/- to AED 150/-. Hope your not looking for EMI on these ;)
It doesn’t end here. It only begins here. Next in line is #
- icloud storage (store everything for the next 10 generations that want to remember you)
- apps designed for Mac only (super fast & in Rajnikanth mode always)
- iPhone (so that all gadgets are in sync and feel like a family)
- Airpods (sound quality that makes Beethoven feel like taking birth again)
- Cases for iPhone & Airpods (remember Steve Jobs’ Ghost)
- And to top it all, the annual upgrades of these devices (Gillette Mach approach with more blades added every year)
I have nothing against Apple, I love them in fact. I have all the gadgets, accessories mentioned above and frankly, I love the Rajnikanth mode of these devices 👌🏻
But this is a chain of events for everything that you choose to buy into. Everything you buy is like the bite of the Forbidden Fruit. It will start its own chain of consequences, which will have its own financial costs, which will have its own burden on your accumulation of wealth, which will have its own cognitive and emotional load.
Example # My gym membership at Gymnation costs only AED 159/- a month, locked in for life. But that’s not the only cost for keeping yourself fit. The additional monthly costs to my fitness regime are #
Protein Supplements — AED 200/-
Healthy Eating Habits (Organic / Fresh / NO canned or packed foods) — AED 1500/-
Essential Amino Acids, Glutamine, Vitamins, Minerals, Fish Oil, Collagen, Energy Bars and more from iherb’s website another AED 500/-
My pursuit of health alone costs me around AED 2359 per month. I am aware of this and indulging in this pursuit consciously. It keeps me fit and productive, it keeps my brain churning ideas daily, it adds agility and spring to my step, it makes me feel good, helps me in good decision making, and indirectly feeds into my quality of life.
Nothing is as cheap as it seems, everything comes with hidden costs. Buy into it, if it serves a purpose your excited about, if it serves a goal your chasing, if it adds to the quality of your life, if it makes you better
James Clear aptly puts it, “The costs of your good habits are in the present. The costs of your bad habits are in the future.”
Every step you take creates a ripple, just the way it’s shown above. This ripple benefits you if your habits are good. This very ripple could create havoc with your future, if habits are bad. As the saying goes, “First we make our habits, then our habits make us.”.
But you will make your habits in line with what your in pursuit of. You can be clear of your pursuits, if you are clear of the future you’d like to create for yourself . And a lot of work is needed in this area since we humans struggle to handle uncertainties and vagaries of our daily lives. Fear paralyses us and hope puts us in state of inertia. For many, it is like driving on a foggy highway and hence they don’t pick speed or land up in a crash.
I do few things to remind myself of the Future I want to create and stay committed top it #
- Meditate daily, in the mornings (I alter between Sadhguru’s Inner Engineering Meditation or Osho’s Silent Meditation)
- Affirmations daily
- Vividly visualise 3 of my Short Term Goals coming true, daily
- Review my day, every day and note it all in a journal (I use Evernote)
- Listen to 1 podcast daily (while driving &/or Workouts)
- Read 30 mins daily
These 6 habits, put together, only take 2 hours or less, spread across the day. But these have allowed me to get my head cleared up to think better and take quality decisions. These have shaped my thinking in a very fundamental manner #
- Meditation works. I can’t get scientific about this as I may not do justice to it, but try it for yourself for 30 days. Take any form of meditation and give it a good shot, to see for yourself.
- Affirmations is my arms and ammunition against the daily noise of negativity and cynicism around me. Eg. “I enjoy every aspect of my life and create joy, fun and adventure effortlessly.” This is one of my 8 affirmations that I say to myself 5 times daily. Years of doing so, has actually allowed me to become this person that I aspired to be once.
- Visualising my 3 goals daily, allows me to put things in perspective. It’s so natural for me to spend consciously as I have a goal I am building my wealth for. It’s natural for me to sleep before 9 pm, as my health goal requires me to hit the gym at 6 am the next day. It’s natural for me to not take things personally since the future is bright and I am heading towards it, come what may. My career goal makes me breeze through my daily corporate affairs. My personal ambition to become a good Business Analyst makes me opt for courses and curriculums naturally (I have 3 courses for consideration post my CFA Level 3 Exams in Dec).
- Reviewing my day makes me analyse my own thought process for the day. Where did I hold on to my virtue, where did I slip, what could have I done better, where did I fall into the trap of pleasing people, where didn’t I stand up for what I believe in, etc. It makes me better at correcting myself. After years of doing so, i’m auto correcting in split seconds. I still have miles to go in this department.
- Daily Podcasts & Books allows me to get into the heads of people I respect/love/adore or would like to learn about. Listening to them speaking through these mediums, brushes off their mindset onto me. I can’t pinpoint one book or podcast that changed me forever , but each of them, leaves me with something, turning me into a better version of myself.
Buffett often says, “The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”
These are hacks that I use to be able to stay away from The Diderot Effect ruining me, slowly. You could develop your own. But think about it, the forces around you are too strong for you to be rational on daily basis 24/7 365 days a year. If certain habits are not built in , you will give into desires/temptations/urges and you won’t be able to stop yourself unless it’s too late.
A capitalist society is designed to offer you choices, but the flipside of it all is that your mind wants it all. It’s not you, but your alter ego. Keeping that devil in check is where the inner game comes into play.
“The player of the inner game comes to value the art of relaxed concentration above all other skills; he discovers a true basis for self-confidence; and he learns that the secret to winning any game lies in not trying too hard.” — W. Timothy Gallwey
The game is within, always was, always will be. What is seen outside, is only a reflection of how good are you at the Inner Game.
Think About It.
Wishing you loads of Love & Luck.
Manish