Materialism steals joy—choose values that fuel growth

You scroll Instagram and see a colleague’s new car, and you feel a pang—it’s time for you to upgrade. You remind yourself that more money, more stuff, more status will make you happier. So you dive back into budgets, endless work calls, and online searches. But hours later, you crash—your mind foggy, your heart hollow. Studies show that chasing extrinsic goals is like eating empty calories—it fills you briefly, then drains you. By contrast, spending time on intrinsic pursuits—helping a neighbor, learning guitar—boosts your mood consistently, rewires your reward centers, and deepens your sense of self. Tonight, swap ten minutes of status-scrolling with planning a volunteer shift. Feel the difference when your mind shifts from “What do I deserve?” to “What can I create?” That simple swap prunes fear circuits and grows pathways of purpose. This approach draws on robust social-psychology research into values and happiness, showing that reinvesting your life’s “slice of pie” toward intrinsic aims yields lasting well-being.

Tonight, pick one extrinsic goal you’ll let go of—like browsing online deals—and replace it with an intrinsic one: a ten-minute plan to help a friend or learn something new. Track your mood tomorrow morning. Notice the energy you gain when you invest in values that feed your soul. Give it a try tonight.