Protect me from what I want

We live in a world obsessed with physical, emotional and material desires. Many of us are constantly chasing after the next best thing to try, buy, or do. We often forget that these desires can be our distraction from actual life, and can become a real hinderance to our peace and growth.

One way to protect ourselves from the urges of desire is by placing a mental limit on what we want. The limit should be determined by our personal values, circumstances and emotional and financial capabilities. This is an essential step to maintain our emotional health, and to ensure that we are not damaging ourselves in a pursuit of something that may not actually be good for us.

Another way to protect ourselves is to practice mindful consumption. We should be conscious of our choices and be sure that they are aimed toward our goals and ambitions. Ha

ving a clear goal and understanding of what we are working toward can help keep our motivations and actions in check. Living with mindfulness will help us direct our time, energy and resources in ways that protect us from chasing after the next best thing that may not ultimately be in our favor.

Finally, it is important to remember our priorities. Our relationships, health and mental space should remain at the top of our list. Working toward these values instead of the ones determined by others can help ensure that we are being true to ourselves and heading in a direction that is healthy and beneficial for our lives.

Protecting ourselves from desires can be difficult, especially in a society that takes a culturally acceptable form of pleasure from material possessions and tangible successes. This can cause us to become entrapped in a vicious cycle of seeking gratification from superficial elements, instead of understanding and nurturing our true needs. Practicing restraint can be hard but it is a necessary skill to acquire so that we don’t risk self harm in the pursuit of external validation and material gains. Ultimately, we are responsible for ourselves and must do what is necessary to protect ourselves from what we want.