Simplify Magazine

According to reports, the average American family spends nearly $1,000 each holiday season. For families who make over $100,000, it is nearly twice as much. Last year, American shoppers spent nearly $5 billion on Black Friday alone. Think about that for a moment. Five billion dollars—up 17% from the previous year. One might say that we, collectively, are part of a spending epidemic. It’s not the good kind of spending, and one could arguably say that it should actually be considered overspending.

Many years ago, an elderly man named Ted Strollo stepped off a curb in downtown Los Gatos, California, unaware of the vehicle that failed to stop for a red light. The vehicle struck Ted with such force that bystanders heard the sickening impact, followed by the screams of horrified pedestrians who witnessed the accident. Ted flew 20 feet, his body bouncing down the street like a rag doll before resting in a tangled mass of bleeding limbs.

There is something deep inside of us, something that invisibly governs and directs our lives. It’s our own deeply embedded story, and it has the ability to shape almost everything about us. As children, we create these stories out of necessity to explain who we are and how the world operates. These are myths that help us understand events that are traumatic and difficult. When we reach adulthood, these stories that conflict with reality no longer keep us safe.