How many times have you rushed out and charged something because it’s touted as the next big thing, the best version or the must-have item of the season?

How many times have you tuned into a news segment or TV show because the next big star is going to be on it?

There’s no shortage of commercials, print or online ad and every other influence you can think of telling us that what we have isn’t good enough, isn’t new enough, doesn’t have enough bells and whistles or isn’t something that would make us desirable to other people.

News flash: the next big thing is being content with what we have. It’s being content with who we are, and not measuring our worth against things, other people or how much stuff we own.

That gadget you want will be outdated in six months.

The house you fell in love with that’s just out of reach isn’t asking you to live beyond your means — it’s urging you to learn a lesson in patience and telling you to keep looking.

If you’re waiting to do something until you think you’re ready, you’ll never be ready. You’ll need this or that first, or to be this way or that way…because that’s what life tells us.

Turning the next big thing on its head is somewhat of a trend these days, but I think it could stand to be bigger and more far-reaching. Some areas of my life have seen a change in this direction, while other areas can be improved upon.

It’s hard to balance the dreamer with the realist and the gotta-have-it with the not-necessary-to-live, but tonight I am thankful for the knowledge that not having that balance only gets us into a hole defined by someone else, instead of into a position of owning our lives for what they are, and being secure in everything — the important things — that makes us all “us.”