Mimetic Desire: Inside René Girard's Key to Understanding Human Behavior
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Once you learn about mimetic desire, you won’t be able to unsee it:
Have you ever wondered why you want the things you want?
The expensive house, high-status relationships, or an impressive career? Chances are, you didn't come up with these desires on your own. According to mimetic theory, you get most of your desires by imitating what others want.
Mimetic theory is a concept developed by the French thinker Rene Girard. He said
"Man is the creature who does not know what to desire, and he turns to others in order to make up his mind."
We don't come up with our desires on our own, but rather, we turn to others to help us figure out what we want.
What's especially interesting about this idea is that we tend to compare ourselves to those closest to our perceived status. For example, you probably won't compare your financial picture to Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, but you will compare yourself to a friend or neighbor who seems to have slightly more success than you do.
And then, you will subconsciously begin to want what they have. “Keeping up with the Jones’s” in a nutshell.
Mimetic desire explains why we often desire things that don't actually make us happy. We think we want something because others want it, but that doesn't mean it will make us happy once we have it.
So, where do you see mimetic desire in your life? Are they things that you truly want, or are they things that others want?