The best anything

That's right folks, it's a double whammy today!

I was browsing through my thought dump sticky notes, which I use to note down any ideas that my brain comes up with in an attempt to divert my attention away from work, and found a suggestion for an entry.

It's based on one of those memories which stuck with me all the way from early childhood. My dad asked me which car I thought was best. I think I complained about the question being to ambiguous and that I couldn't answer it. In reality, the answer my dad had in mind was quite a simple one: the best car out there, is one that belongs to you.

Only recently have I remembered it and realised how right this thought pattern is. In this capitalistic world, we're constantly tempted to buy new items because that's how the system works. This, in my opinion, creates a mindset of disatisfaction with what we have already, which makes us search out better versions of items that we already have.

I believe that this is not the ideal mindset to have, for our personal satisfaction or our shared environment. Even the manufacturers create items that have a known limited lifetime, because there's no demand for something that will last for many years. So, for what it's worth, here's my solution: buy better items (even if they are more expensive) and buy them second hand when you can. Obtain them with the expectation that they'll last for years to come and won't need replacing. Another thing to look for is ease of maintainability, because that will greatly extend the object's lifetime and will create a personal connection for it.

There's enough of most things already in the world to satisfy us, so why not use them?