Your environment bombards you with promises of happiness through consumption. However, no matter how much you acquire or how many things you buy, you feel as if you can never reach a lasting sense of satisfaction. This feeling of insatiability fuels anxiety.

Epicurus of Samos suggested centuries ago that true peace is born from the elimination of unnecessary desires from your life, and that the things that disturb you must be removed. By simplifying your needs, you reduce your dependence on external factors that you cannot control and begin to feel happier.

“If you want to make someone happy, do not increase their wealth, but reduce their desires.”

Epicurus

Prioritize Your Desires

In his work Letter to Meneceus, Epicurus taught the analysis of desires and the importance of not losing peace. It is important to understand that not all desires carry the same weight and impact. The Greek philosopher divides desires into three levels:

  • Natural and necessary desires: These are essential for living. They include things like food, rest, shelter, and mental exercise.
  • Natural but unnecessary desires: These provide variety or aesthetic pleasure but are not essential; they encompass things like technology, friendships, and carefully prepared meals.
  • Empty or meaningless desires: Here, fame, power, and unlimited wealth come into play. These desires are dangerous because they have no natural limit; the more you have, the more you think you lack. According to Epicurus, pursuing these is a waste of time.
Epicurus clearly stated in his work Fundamental Principles that the wealth sought to impress others or to conform to a trend is the source of real concern.

When you chase standards determined by others' judgments, you drift away from your self-sufficiency. For Epicureanism, peace is a natural state and is only disrupted when you allow empty desires to occupy a central place in your daily life.

Make 2 Interruptions to Reduce Daily Anxiety

You don’t need to retreat to a garden to apply this wisdom. You can put it into practice by analyzing your daily routines. Follow these two rules:

  • Social comparison interruption: Identify the goals you pursue solely for external validation. This could be an expectation about your body, career, possessions, or lifestyle; these are the things you maintain to meet those standards. If you can let go of these and truly focus on what you want, you will regain your mental peace.
  • Automatic consumption interruption: Identify a purchase or habit you engage in out of boredom or habit; for example, buying clothes you don’t need. When you fight against this trigger, you will observe that your well-being is actually independent of possessing that object. Once you understand this, you will feel more satisfied with what you have.

“Any man who thinks he does not have enough of what he possesses is an unhappy man, even if he owns the whole world.”

Epicurus

Epicurus does not want you to live in deprivation or to be an ascetic. His thought follows rational pleasure; that is, it means avoiding the turmoil of the soul and the pain of the body. You can enjoy the beautiful things in life, but the key is to learn not to suffer when they are gone.

This philosophy does not want you to be lazy or to forget any ambition. In fact, it provides you with more freedom. When your basic needs are met and your desires are under control, you lose your dependence on what is outside, and you regain control over your own peace.