Contended craving.

One of the most important lessons in life, I feel, is learning to be content with what you have. Of course, my background is founded in the eastern monastic life, stopping craving and all. The idea there is that desire is the cause of unhappiness, because we crave things and when we're not granted them we fall prey to unhappiness. So, we must learn to curb our cravings and/or make our happiness based on something else.

This also ties into action, as if we do things based on what we'll get from them, we'll be susceptible to fear and anxiety. Our expectation of our "reward," or whatever the consequences we want to come out ultimately taint our action. The idea here is to act without being attached to results. Do, for the sake of doing, and then if you get the action it's nice, but since that isn't directly dependent on what our own actions are we mustn't put crucial importance on it. For example, I will be applying to Medical School, and the results of that application process aren't up to me, so I must do so without solely focusing on getting in, but on doing it properly. This often has the added benefit (for many people) of taking away stress, making the "doing" part easier (though others prefer pressure to get things done).

Of course, the major benefit of being content with what you have is that you really spend time, money, effort, etc. on things you need, or want so badly that it makes it worthwhile. However, as most of us know, this is damn near impossible when buying gadgets.

The way things work in the gadget industry, you spend tons of time looking at prices for something you want, doing comparison shopping to find out where to buy it, and tracking it down there, only to get there (or get to a website) to find that there's something newer, better, and cheaper (or more expensive, which equally disastrous). Then you go track down previews, reviews, reports of issues, find out what's good and what's not, and you start the process all over again.

On the other hand, once you buy something, something newer and better comes out. If you buy something new, you very often end up being a beta tester for a product that doesn't function as advertised, or loses support, or ends up being really crappy in comparison to the competing products that come out inevitably the day after your return policy ends. This says nothing of the excruciating time you spend trying to make your new toy work, the yelling and cursing you do when it doesn't, the time you take to get help from anywhere you can (friends, stores, online forums, even books!), more of the yelling and cursing to find out that it's not what you expected, only to find a glimmer of hope or happiness at the first moment of it performing properly.

And there's more. There are those, who are like me, who wait upwards of six months to go through the studying process, to learn what's coming up, how it will be implemented in comparison to what you plan on buying, and where your product's pitfalls are. Then, you judge that based on when you want/need it, how much it costs and will cost in the future, and whether the next generation is worth waiting for (and repeating the process for). Then you buy it, and you love it and lament the fact that you spent so long deliberating over buying it. Or, you realize you made a dire mistake, but it's too late to go return it and get something else. Or, also like me, you realize you didn't want it that much in the first place and you don't buy it (hey, it's a great way to save money!).

Buyer's remorse is ever present, and if not, there's the constant fear of it lurking around every corner. And when you buy computers, oh God, there are so many options, and you have to decide whether you want something bleeding edge, or something established, or something cheap, and all have their own repercussions.

So how can we possibly be content with what we have? The easy (i.e. cheap) choice is to not want things, or more likely in practice, just not buy them. But really, the process is important. You have to come to terms with the fact that anything you buy is sure to come with many complications, likely to be reduced to a paperweight in months (if you're lucky), and that you have to do your homework before buying. If you don't wait long enough, you won't know how established the product will be, or the pros and cons. If you wait too long, you increasingly risk buying with something better on the horizon, or with your product being outdated.

It may seem like you have to attain a Zen-like state of mind while being plugged into the internet to find that optimal moment, and learn jump fast and high. Really, it's about patience. You can't buy on a whim. And, unless what you got is a complete lemon, it's about being content with what's in front of you. You're never going to have the king of all gadgets (not for more than a month at any rate), and everything has its limitations. More importantly, you have to come to terms with the fact that there's no catch-all solution, no epitome of "all-in-one" sort of product. There's only ones that serve you needs, fall short, or go beyond. And, especially in this economy, it's important to know when you need to cut back on the spending.

Still, I say being content is easier than it sounds. Take some discipline and apply it to your cravings. Eventually, and you may have to trust me on this, after an initial rush of craving more, you'll get to a point where you'll desire things less. Then, when you do want something, you'll know how to make it money well spent, and you won't feel so overloaded by the process. Who knows? Maybe we can all even begin to appreciate the old-fashioned way to go about doing things a little bit more.