I have what I need

someone has got to be the one to step up and say what needs to be said, and luckily I have no qualms about being that someone! The thing I feel needs to be said is this: it does not appear the advertising industry has our best interest in mind. Personally, I get very fatigued by this industry constantly telling me I need something, robbing me of the feeling that I have what I need already.

You may recognize the “I have what I need feeling”, from little moments here and there. If you have ever packed for a trip you may have felt the overwhelm of trying to gather what you’ll need, and then experienced the relief of realizing you’ve got everything packed and ready. That feeling is easily overlooked due to its fleeting nature, but it does not have to be so temporary. Being cognizant of this feeling everyday, no matter what, has the power to greatly contribute to our joy. An entire industry constantly putting us back in that feeling of overwhelm does not have our backs. It only puts us in the path of regret toward buying things that don’t serve our needs, feeling tricked out of our hard earned money, and like our value centers around our possessions, among many other feelings.

My wish for the advertising industry is it will hold our highest desires at heart, it will help us live our journeys in the most fruitful way by aiding us in knowing what will help us be our best. When I dream of what this might look like , I imagine advertising professionals are taught to be neutral in the information they state about a product. They allow the consumer to tell them what the product has helped them achieve. This looks like commercials that are not trying to trick us, they are there to tell us the possibilities. For example, if the product is tape, it is not advertised as having only one purpose of sticking things together. That one product serves many functions for many people, and those functions have the opportunity to become common knowledge.

There are definitely a number of things that can be used for tasks outside of what they are advertised for, and to not allow room for this information does us all a disservice.

I also know there are lots of products out there, all trying to make my life easier, but they are not ones I can use with a disability. I imagine an advertising industry that allows people of all abilities to try the product and is open about how a person needs to have a certain level of function to engage with a product. Currently, this information goes unsaid and is left to the consumer to find out on their own. This is one reason it can feel like we have wasted our money on something that doesn’t work for us. Frankly, the more things we try and cannot use, the more trash we are creating for our landfills, and that is a whole other aspect to consider.

My wish for us, in today’s world, is to know ourselves well and be so protective of the “I have what I need” feeling, we are not fooled and no longer accepting the cruelty of an industry that doesn’t have our best interest at heart. We will not be fooled!