Why I Value Experiences Over Things

Fisherman's Wharf San FranciscoI decided to take a break from writing about my marketing thoughts and mix it up a little bit and write about why should spend on experiences not things. As you know, travel is important to me. Not only because it’s the industry that I cut my marketing teeth in, but because when I was growing up, my memories are of my parents piling us in the care and taking us on trips around the country. It’s something that I will never forget and something that I want to give my family. We all work hard every day for our money. After we take care of our regular expenses we all wonder what to do with whatever we have remaining? Do we save for family getaway? Take our kids to a ballgame? Purchase the latest and greatest tech gadget? That’s the secret to our happiness, whatever we do with that extra that we have. The trouble that I have when I purchase things, is that the excitement fades and I have buyers remorse. But when I purchase an experience, that excitement stays with me for awhile.

Here is why I value experiences over things.

Memories Will Never Die

Materialistic things are exciting at first but then they quickly become just another thing as time passes and eventually we may just end up donating that item away. That’s not the case with our experiences. That’s not the case with experiences. I do not remember the toy my grandparents gave me us a kid, I remember camping with them in Wisconsin Dells, and going on a trip from the midwest to east coast. Even as an adult, I will never forget the experience of going to all of the Milwaukee Brewers 2011 home playoff games with a friend. Or the trip out to San Francisco that my wife and I took together to experience the sights and sounds of that amazing city. Your memories of your experience will last a lifetime.

Experiences Become a Part of Your Identity

We are not our possessions, we are the accumulation of everything we’ve seen, the things we’ve done, and the places that we’ve been. Buying the latest tech isn’t going to change or mold who we are; but taking a day off from work to go exploring, hiking your nearby forest trails, or playing in a weekly softball league in the summer. We are the sum total of our experiences and they become part of us. It is said that our experiences are a bigger part of our identity than our material goods.

Anticipating the Planned Experience

Planning the vacation is not only an important part of the trip, it gives the whole family the anticipation of going someplace, creating excitement and enjoyment. The entire family can get involved in the planning process and then count down the days until the vacation finally arrives. Experiences are enjoyable from the very first moment of planning, all the way through to the vacation and memories you create that you will cherish forever.

Experiences Allow You to Be A Storyteller

Experiences are all about going on an adventure, creating a memory, meeting new people and then telling that story with your family, friends and sharing it on social media. Sharing our travel stories makes us happier and everyone loves to tell their co-worker or neighbor about their latest vacation experience. We consume all of our experiences with other people, so as we get older, we are able to share those stories with our children and create new memories with them. Ultimately that is what makes us happy and satisfied.

It’s like the Bon Jovi song says, ‘You want to make a memory‘.

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