Have you ever been to one of those parties or social gatherings where you bump into a new crowd of people and to break the ice one of them says: –

“What do you do for a living ?”

I hate this phrase ! – It just asks, how much stuff do you have so I can compare my stuff to your stuff.

It goes something like this.

What do you do for a living, or whats your job ? – or do you have more money than me ?

What car do you drive – or how much was your best possession ?

Whats your house like – or is it bigger and more expensive than mine ?

What does your – husband/wife/partner do for a living – or how much cash do they have ?

Do you have children – oh really, all that money spare – wow !!

I used to live in a small housing estate of new houses, and it seemed that every weekend one household would hold the obligatory “House warming party” or “How much money do you have party”. I hated it !

There were only two households who appeared to not want to play the game, ours, and the house next door.

Now I’m not saying that theses questions are always so based on material goods, but at the time and at these particular parties, they were, and I’m sure you’ve all met people like this.

Who cares ?

At first I was angry, then rude perhaps, but now I feel quite sad for people like this.

Is that all they have ? A life comparing yourself to others, no matter how well off you are, there will always be someone richer than you, with a better car than you, with a bigger house than you, more possessions than you.

The minimalist lifestyle has allowed me to step away from the measure of possessions, and money to a certain extent. By nature I have an enquiring mind, so my questions now ask about personalities, passions, dreams, experiences and the things that really motivate people to action. I no longer see what the size of your house, car, yacht in Monaco really have to do with what sort of person you are, and more to the point, how well we get on as individuals.

Have you experienced situations like this, been asked these prying questions ? Let me know in the comments.

If this blog post was useful consider joining me on Facebook or mention this on twitter.

[image eliduke - creative commons]