We Need to Stop Overusing the Word "Love"

I still remember one time when I was younger sitting at the family dinner table. I had been talking about how much I loved a new outfit I had just gotten. As I was rambling on with my story, my dad proceeded to interject his opinion. He said “you don’t love it, you like it”. What’s the big deal? I thought. He explained “Love is something shared between people. You can’t love things.”

At the time, I thought he was just being picky. Who cares what words you use to describe things? But as I got older, this started to make more and more sense. It seems like there’s a lot of “love” everywhere nowadays…

“Love it, or your money back guaranteed!”

“I’m lovin’ it!”

“It must be love.”

Marketers know that love is a powerful word that triggers emotion. And indeed, we know the strong emotions triggered with the word “love”. Think about wedding vows for example: “I promise to love you...etc etc”.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be told that I will “fall in love” with product x when those are the same words and emotions I associate with loving others. And I think that is where we need to be mindful as consumers. Our freedom from materialism starts with being aware of our emotions and how marketers try to manipulate us.

Trust me, you don’t need that new pair of shoes or that luxury car to be happy. They won’t make you feel “love”. True love and happiness come from your relationships with others, and that’s not something corporation x can sell you.

My challenge for you is to start redefining how you think of love. Once you can separate material wants from true interpersonal love, I think you will be well on your way to living a more fulfilling life while paving your way to financial independence. And that’s Better Lifestyles, Greater Planet.