Wants vs. needs~~is one better than the other?

Tweet

I'm not really sure just why I started thinking about this. No doubt because I said to my son earlier, I ''need to'' clean the bathrooms and vacuum the bedrooms, but I don't ''want to.''I was finishing my dinner, and planning my next few days, checking the next week appointments, and such. As I sat there drinking my after-dinner coffee, I contemplated ''want to'' vs ''need to'' in my head. Ah, the ''have to''can be good, or it can just be hard. We need to work, pay bills, cook, clean, care for children and loved ones, make sure our household runs well, and the list is very, very long--in fact never ending, as most of the ''need to'' things have to be repeated at least daily, if not more often. OH, wait! I realized today that the two are definitely tied together...we often don't want to do what we have to do. Or said the other way, we also don't always have to do what we want or need to do. Hmm...confused yet? But there is a big difference. To want to do something, is a desire. We don't actually have to do what we want to do, or maybe we aren't able to, whatever the reason. To have to, is a necessity, with consequences if the have to we don't do, often causing a bad outcome. We can want simple or hard things, and what we want can be experiences as well--friendships, true love, vacations, a new wardrobe or new car--not necessities, but hard wants. The need to's...we have to pay for what our actual needs are, housing, food, transportation, insurance...you know the drill here. If we do not pay those things, the consequences are dire. We need to change diapers, keep clean and decent, be there for those who count on us, meet all of our obligations. The needs are never really done for the most part, have to be repeated regularly. Wants and needs do tie together. We want relationships, and often actually need that in our lives. We want good times and happiness, but we often need to work for that to happen, depending on circumstances. Sometimes, it's the little things in the wants and needs. My son said yesterday, is there any soda stashed somewhere? I NEED a soda. I don't buy soda and neither does he, we don't really need it and it's just not good for us. I do keep a Sprite or two for upset tummies. I said to him, you don't need a soda, you just WANT one. He said he never thought about it that way, he didn't really need it. (For the record, Mom got him a Sprite that was stashed away!) After drinking about half of it, he said you're right, I didn't need it, I thought I wanted it and now it is just too sugary. (That's a miracle in itself, a story for another day!) Just for today, I am focusing on the wants vs the needs. The wants give me something to work towards, to dream of doing. We have to put some things out there for ourselves to strive for, that are just wants, not necesseties, not really needed, just something different and special and meaningful. Life has become harder for so many of us, the wants vs. needs in many cases has become just the needs--the wants have been tossed out the window. If you have had to do that, grab a want or two and put it back on your dream list, or your wish list, or whatever you call it. It's OK to have wants. It builds hope, and we all need hope. Forgive my gibberish. There are moments when I am just down to basics and overthink a lot. Part of life, I think. , Picture from howtomoney.com