thneed<\/a>, I would go to a store (or, with the advent of the internet, a website) and choose from the available thneeds. I’d look at the store’s selection (or the website’s selection) and pick the one best suited for me.<\/p>\nIf the thneed I wanted was particularly expensive or important, I might expand my search to multiple stores or multiple websites. But usually, I stuck with the first store I visited.<\/p>\n
The key point here is that I allowed the places I shopped to impose limits on the thneeds available to me. I think of this approach as “store-centered shopping”. Whatever the store has in stock defines my universe of options. <\/p>\n
Now that I’m older, I’ve flipped the script. Instead of allowing the marketplace to define which thneeds are available to me, I decide exactly what I want before<\/em> I begin my search. I put myself and my needs first. Once I know what I want, I take the time to locate it. What I want is almost always out there somewhere \u2014 if I’m patient enough to track it down.<\/p>\nI think of this approach “self-centered shopping”.<\/strong> I’m putting me<\/em> first, and that’s a Good Thing. In fact, that’s an Excellent Thing! This method consistently leads to greater satisfaction with the things I buy. Instead of picking up cheap, mass-market thneeds, I’m buying thneeds that feel as if they were specifically made for me.<\/p>\nLet me give you a concrete example. <\/p>\n
Buying a Wallet<\/h2>\n
Every five years or so, I need to replace my wallet. The old one wears out (or gets lost), so I buy a new one.<\/p>\n
The way this has always worked for me is simple. My wallet falls apart (or turns up missing), so I head to a nearby department store to look at their selection. I browse the wallets on display, pick the one I like best, then buy it. It becomes my wallet for the next five years.<\/p>\n
This is how I’ve always<\/em> bought wallets since my very first one. I’ve been doing it for more than thirty years.<\/p>\nIn 2019, I noticed my wallet was beginning to fall apart again. “Time to buy another,” I thought to myself, and I realized I was dreading the experience. Just as always, I’d go to the store and choose from a wide selection of sameness. But here’s the thing: I don’t like most wallets. They work for other people, but they don’t work for me.<\/p>\n