SMART Notebook 18

    : Ownership can provide a sense of security and control over our environment, often enhancing our mood and motivation. When Possessions Start to "Possess" Us

    While items can enrich our lives, they also carry a hidden cost. Warren Buffett famously remarked that creating a landscape of overhead, hassle, and complexity.

    Psychologists and anthropologists have long noted that we project our sense of self onto everything we own. Jean-Paul Sartre once observed that we wish to possess things specifically to enlarge our sense of self, using them as a "gallery" of who we are.

    : Our collections—whether of stamps, art, or even vintage Pez dispensers—signal our interests and status to both ourselves and others.