Welcome back to our Sunday bonus episode, where I like to share an article with you from a different podcast in our network.

Today's episode is coming from our very first podcast, Optimal Living Daily. You can find that show wherever you're listening to this.

And please do follow or subscribe to the show to get new episodes every day. So with that, here's Justin with

another article as we optimize your life.

The Pursuit of Status. How to Avoid Chasing the Wrong Things by Lewis Chew with no

sidebar.com.

Despite composing several famous works, the French philosopher Dennis Dieterow spent the majority of his life in poverty. Like many Enlightenment thinkers of his time, Dieterow had

little concern for material possessions. That changed when he received a new scarlet robe from his friend as a gift.

The robe was so beautiful that Diderot treasured it above all else. But Diderot also quickly

realized that the robe was out of place amongst his other common possessions.

He didn't own anything that would match the grandeur of his new robe.

And so Dieterot went about replacing his old possessions.

He replaced his straw chair with a leather one.

A large mirror took over the mantle of his fireplace.

He filled up the vacant corner of his house with a writing desk. Before long, Dieterow found himself in debt. As he remarks in his essay

titled Regrets for My Old Dressing Gown, quote, I was the absolute master of my old robe. I have become the slave of the new one,

end quote. Pursuit of status, the Deiderot effect. Deiderot's story shows how the acquisition of new

possessions is never a singular event. Each new purchase often creates a spiral of consumption

that leads you to acquire more things.

It's a social phenomenon that explains much of our modern consumption patterns.

Savvy marketers often bundle complementary products together

and make us offers so compelling, we can't refuse them. One seemingly innocent purchase

...