A very close friend of mine was recently robbed. The theft was professional, scary almost. They came in at night, took a £100,000 watch, and nothing else. Organised crime, cleanly executed.
Afterwards, he said something unexpected. He felt no desire to replace the watch. That struck me as a profoundly positive thing.
Most people accumulate status goods as they become successful. Watches are a classic example. They are worn daily and highly visible, but their value is almost entirely social. A £100,000 watch tells the time no better than a digital one. In fact, often worse. And, unlike a sports car, there is no meaningful performance difference with a fine watch.
By losing the watch, my friend had been liberated. Wealth is not just spectacle. It is optionality. If you no longer want a particular thing, you are free from it.
That freedom makes you wealthier. If you feel no pull to buy a luxury good, the money stays available for other choices. Or it stays unspent and invested, which is often the best option of all. The richest position is not owning everything. It is not wanting many things.
Take the extreme examples. Imagine feeling no desire for a yacht or a private jet. Being genuinely content without them. You are immediately wealthier than someone who needs those things to feel successful. You have more options, not fewer.
There is a temptation to think that wealth is about access to consumption. It is not. It is about the ability to choose. Removing one costly desire increases that ability.
In an odd way, the robbery gave my friend extra freedom. It removed a material want he was carrying. Losing a luxury can be a real form of progress.
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