You are a Limited Edition
Homo sapiens-the species to which all modern human beings belong. Homo sapiens is one of the several species grouped into the genus Homo, but it is the only one that is not extinct. Humans and animals are similar in the basic ways of having abilities to eat, sleep, think, and communicate.
Humans share many traits with our nearest relatives-the great apes. We share the large brain, body size, long lives, and prolonged childhoods. What really differentiates humans from animals is our brain and where we reside. Both humans and animals do reside on Earth, but animals are not influenced by external factors-such as products, stores, advertisements, restaurants.
Animals have considerably basic needs and once they have those, they are content. For instance, the caregiver of an animal or a human, wants their offspring to be safe and healthy. However, the offspring of an animal may be content to this, but a human offspring may desire more.
Humans, on the other hand-focus on both their needs and wants. Needs-refer to things we must have to survive-such as food, water, clothing and shelter. Wants are desires for goods and services we would like to have but do not need. No human would be satisfied living in one place for the rest of their lives with just the basic necessities. In this recent lockdown as well, even though many of us enjoyed spending time with family, we were just raring to go out again. We were just waiting to get back to work, to travel, to go for lunches/dinners at restaurants, to go for movies and eventually get back to our “routine”. Hence humans are also known as “social animals”.
If you think about it, once our needs are taken care of all we think about is-what do I want to do NEXT? The phrases “bucket list”, “wish list” or “Things to do before I turn 30–40–50” and so on. These are simply put only lists of the “extra” things that have been created in this world of consumerism.
Any product/event today is marketed using the five senses we have of -touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Even if we do have control over our thoughts, our senses get perplexed more often than not because advertising firms are covering all mediums both online and offline. Be it listening to radio, watching television, going for movies to theatres or the traditional billboards, newspaper advertisements. Now with technology evolving rapidly-whenever we go out anywhere, we are surrounded by customized/personalized advertisements. To have complete control over your thoughts-we need to be in a really ZEN mode and be connected with our inner self completely.
Technology is evolving rapidly and if you think about it, we are always surrounded and absorbed by it. We do not have an option to live without it unless we just leave everything behind and go live in the wilderness and completely detached from humanity. What I am getting at is, everywhere we go-there will be NEW books, menus, games, shows, cars, events and other goods or services which will be LIMITED EDITION. The term “Special Edition” or “Limited Edition” when used in marketing management, intends to give the product something new and previously unseen in the regular edition.
When we read or see that phrase-we automatically think “Yes, this is something I must have or must try” before it is either out of stock or stopped. But there is one key aspect we all are missing out on here-any guesses?
Just like any other product or service-we humans, all of us-are a LIMITED EDITION. Nothing is more exclusive or unique than yourself. First came humans, then came various goods and services. If you think about it- we have one life, finite life, finite time-every moment, every aspect of this journey called LIFE is completely yours, take ownership of it. How books have several chapters — our life is an accumulation of all the events that have taken place in our lives — and each experience or each year of our lives can be a chapter of your book.
The problem lies in us- we always tend to look outward more than inward. We don’t need to blame ourselves for this, but over the years — culture and society has become so lax, unfettered and wobbly. We are living in such a materialistic world — where we are anxious nowadays and have fear of missing out (FOMO) at most times. Compare the marketing done for products or services vs simply understanding yourself, listening to your body and being at complete sync with yourself. The relationship with yourself is the first relationship you should have.
The feeling of “happiness” that we derive from a Limited-Edition watch, car, shoe, drinks, or any other consumer product/service is also extremely limited. It is only for a short duration-maybe a week, month, or couple of years.It is temporary.After that, whether it is an exclusive product or not, it will make no difference whatsoever to you as an individual or anyone else as a matter of fact.
Over time, I have observed that we tend to underestimate ourselves tremendously. We create our lives from what we have got. Nobody is perfect — everyone has strengths & weaknesses, but what matters is how you utilize them to your benefit and convert them to your strengths. We have immense potential, our body has limitless energy, our minds have great power, and our understanding of information is extensive.
Stop LIMITING yourself and Start CREATING. Start writing the story of your life if you have not already. Your memories are timeless and should be treasured — cherish them and write them so that they are remembered. A day might come when someone might know about you and it will leave a lasting impact in their lives. Live up to your potential — for you are amazing, spread happiness, share your story and be an inspiration or motivation for others.
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough” — Mae West
