My buddy Matt said it so good. When talking about the holidays last year, he told his wife that he would much prefer experience gifts over possession gifts.
First of all, the idea was delivered with great effectiveness. Simple, digestable. It comes across as being appreciative and helpful in providing some guidance. And definitely impactful due to the clarity of the message. Lending dignity to the other person while getting what you want. That is noble in my book.
More important of course, I couldn’t agree more with the concept. If you’re the kind of person that would rather go on a trip or check out a concert or fly somewhere to check out an exhibit ““ things you wouldn’t normally due unless pushed by your spouse or friends — over getting another item that isn’t going to improve your quality of life, then you might want to put this line into use.
Obviously there are some possessions can improve your quality of life. Camera to capture moments. Kayak to let you get on the water. Wine opener so you can drink the wine you enjoy. But like most American households, you probably already have most of the possessions that really do make a positive difference in your life.
[While this idea is applicable to the financial times we live in, there’s no timeliness factor to this post. It applies to even the best of financial times.]
I think everyone can agree that life is about meaningful experiences. Reflecting on great trips or experiences in the past, cherishing the memories That’s what it’s all about, no?
But that’s not the purpose of this post. I think most of you are already enlightened to these ideas. The point of this post is just to tell you about this great line, “Experience gifts over possession gifts.”