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Wanting material things is not necessarily bad. We all yearn for them for our entertainment and satisfaction. We work hard every day so we can afford the things that make us happy.
But wanting more than you can afford and need can make things complicated. When our desires become too much to handle, we often falter and lose our sense of contentment.
This is why it is very important to keep reminding ourselves that real happiness can’t be found in physical things. Although we need a few thing to survive, clinging to materialism is not the key to a full life.
In this article, we aim to help you with your materialistic compulsions. We share with you a list of 21 materialism quotes that can help you say no to wanting more.
It may seem difficult to live simply, only possessing what is necessary—but it is possible. You will be surprised at how great it feels to have more by wanting less.
Before we proceed to our quotes, let’s discuss a few important reasons why being materialistic is not good for the heart or soul.
(Side note: Want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life? Then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success).
What You Will Learn
Why Materialism Makes You Unhappy
As humans, it is only natural to want things that can make us happy and satisfied. In fact, this is one of the reasons why we strive hard for success. Satisfying ourselves, our families, and the people around us can make us feel proud and accomplished.
However, there are times when this desire becomes problematic, and this is typically when we start wanting more of what we already have. We begin feeding our materialistic tendencies until they get out of hand and we become selfish, greedy, and ungrateful.
These negative emotions can consume our minds and bodies, and we start to feel uncomfortable and miserable. We feel like we will never be content, when in fact we already have all that we really need.
We want to help you prevent this situation, so we have prepared a list of materialism quotes to help you keep yourself from wanting more. Let’s check them out!
- “Materialism is not fundamentally an economic problem, but a cultural one… a spiritual issue. It runs to the depths of our souls, and, for this reason, needs to be understood less in terms of budgets or fiscal cycles and more in terms of where we locate the sacred, of where we search for meaning and transcendence, and of how we think about justice, equality, and the future of our world.” – Robert Wuthnow
- “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.” – John Lennon
- “The most terrible thing about materialism, even more terrible than its proneness to violence, is its boredom, from which sex alcohol, drugs, all devices for putting out the accusing light of reason and suppressing the unrealizable aspirations of love, offer a prospect of deliverance.” – Malcolm Muggeridge
- “The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything.” – Chuck Palahniuk
- “‘Material’ is meant to be a fun, lighthearted song about the tiny bit of materialism that's in all of us. The message is meant to translate the notion that you don't need luxury items to feel special; you already are special.” – Yuna
- “Our chief comforts often produce our greatest anxieties, and the increase in our possessions is but an inlet to new disquietudes.” – Oliver Goldsmith
- “The only time you look in your neighbor's bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don't look in your neighbor's bowl to see if you have as much as them.” – Louis C.K.
- “Materialism is decadent and degenerates only if the spirit of the nation has withered and if individual people are so unimaginative that they wallow in it.” – Brooks Atkinson
- “A lot of people get so hung up on what they can't have that they don't think for a second about whether they really want it.” – Lionel Shriver
- “We know that material things don't offer contentment, but we still buy more of the props and gadgets our culture tells us we must have in order to be happy and “happening.” Our addiction to consumption distracts us from seeing that we are disconnected from ourselves, from our truth, and from one another. Any euphoria we gain from our material gains is fleeting at best.” – Susan L. Taylor
- “It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” – Bertrand Russell
- “These days, in our materialistic culture, many people are led to believe that money is the ultimate source of happiness. Consequently, when they don’t have enough of it they feel let down. Therefore, it is important to let people know that they have the source of contentment and happiness within themselves and that it is related to nurturing our natural inner values.” – Dalai Lama
- “Materialism is the philosophy of the subject who forgets to take account of himself.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
- “We are shallow because we have become enslaved by gross materialism, the glitter of gold and its equivalents, for which reason we think that only the material goods of this earth can satisfy us and we must therefore grab as much as can while we are able.” – F. Sionil Jose
- “Increase of material comforts, it may be generally laid down, does not in any way whatsoever conduce to moral growth.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “Do not think you need necessarily have as fine swords and clothing as your neighbor. As long as they are not disreputable, they will do. And if you borrow and lose your independence, you will be despised.” – Hojo Soun
- “An attitude to life which seeks fulfillment in the single-minded pursuit of wealth – in short, materialism – does not fit into this world, because it contains within itself no limiting principle, while the environment in which it is placed is strictly limited.” – E. F. Schumacher
- “People are realizing that what seemed important to them in their lives-materialism and consumerism-doesn't work at all to make a happy heart. It actually makes an unhappy heart. And an unhappy world.” – Sylvia Boorstein
- “Materialism coarsens and petrifies everything, making everything vulgar, and every truth false.” – Henri Frederic Amiel
- “Individually, people are finding that a simpler lifestyle provides greater satisfaction than the relentless pursuit of materialism.” – Laurance Rockefeller
- “Matters of the heart are important to me. All this materialism and all the money and wealth are things that you don't take to the grave. One day you have it. The next day you don't.” – Shari Arison
Final Words on Materialism
Materialism can turn into greed and selfishness if not handled properly. It not only turns your life into a mess, but can also affect your relationships with other people.
Thus, it is important that we learn and remind ourselves of the value of limits and self-control. This is what we want to help you achieve in this post, and we hope that we accomplished that goal.
Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success.
