‘You need something you like’

You might be saying it in your head multiple times to see if it gets another meaning but I’ll explain. The key word that made me think was ‘need’.

What an interesting word. ‘Need’. For me, a ‘need’ is something that is required for survival or crucial for your living being. ‘Need’ is strong. Not like ‘want’. A ‘want’ is something that you crave or have a like for.

Maybe context will also help you decipher this quote. I work at a retail clothing company part-time. I am also a full-time student and was on the process of writing my dissertation at this time. My dissertation is about fast fashion and company values, the gap between ‘need’ and ‘want’ as we’ve discussed.

I was going in for my shift and before I go up the escalator, on the way to the staff lounge, I hear this ‘You need something you like’. These words were being said by a father to his daughter, I suppose it was her birthday. He said this after she said she wasn’t liking anything in store.

I thought about this a lot. Why? Such a weird sentence. Something that would sound regular but not to a person that was studying this for dissertation. ‘Need’ and ‘like’ can’t be found on the same sentence. They simply don’t work. You ‘want’ something you ‘like’.

You dont NEED it. You see what I mean?

Now, if we would go deeper into it I would start talking about what this missuse of words has done to our planet… I’ll tell you a bit on what I know.

We are in constant change and my research did state that the changes seen in consumer behaviour were positive, although they were still needing of progress. We ‘need’ to see what is actually necessary in our lives and distinguish it from our ‘likes’.

I have a lot of ‘wants’ as anyone does. They give us a purpose. However, I am trying to see purpose elsewhere. This went deep…but it’s true! Trying not to be so materialistic.

My weakness is technology. It shouldn’t be. I ‘need’ a phone and a computer… why do I ‘want’ an AppleWatch? But I do.

All of this to say that if you have the disposable income to get me an AppleWatch, you are more than welcome to send one my way. JK.

Put your ‘wants’ aside and prioritise your ‘needs’. Also, start teaching the children. As maybe that father should have done. I am sure that sentence just flew out of his mind and he thought it was just another regular Wednesday but for me that meant something. We ‘need’ to change.