![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmZA2M2EHUBTgYHV18vnHb6tL9pqTLSjccuwfEYp5VwvvY/image.png)

A few weeks ago, I was out and about with some of my team who were visiting the UK from all over.  I asked them to wait for me as I needed to dash into the shop and get something quickly on my way home.

"Why did you take so long?"

"I couldn't find any dark roast Nespresso capsules"

"OMG, that is such a first world problem!"

This [expression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World_problem) is used to describe something that appears to be a problem to some but is frivolous to others who have much bigger life challenges.  It made me reflect on what was important to me.  What was really important?

Today I was listening to Ian King on Sky News and he was interviewing someone from Mumm who had invented a bottle of Champagne that could be [opened in zero-gravity environments in space](https://www.dezeen.com/2022/09/28/space-champagne-bottle-maison-mumm-octave-de-gaulle/).  

So for those of you not in the know, when you are a space tourist, and want to celebrate your trip with your friends as you float weightless in zero-gravity, you can't.  Well, you couldn't but you can now.  Thanks to this great new handy product.

It made me think, wow, my colleagues were amused by me worrying about which coffee capsule I would buy but this is on a whole new level - well above (no pun intended) my normal problems.

Do we invent frivolous problems that diminish, in our minds, the overall utility of our purchases?  

I buy the coffee I buy as I believe it gives me a better satisfaction for the value I spend.  I feel it is worth spending more money for a better coffee and the capsules are just a convenience thing.  However, with a small adjustment to my mindset, I could have got more satisfaction with less spend.  

Definitely, I don't need to drink champagne in space to be happy in life.

If you consider the Maslow hierarchy of needs, most people in the world are worried about the basics.  Food, shelter, security.  We then move on to network and battery life.  In the first world we generally have these things which is the core behind the expression.

So ,do we just invent frivolous satisfaction targets as we grow more wealthy and have less needs that aren't already satisfised?

What example have you seen of frivolous problems that people have invented?  Do you see this behaviour as negative?

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[Image source: Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/photo/selective-focus-photography-of-brown-labeled-bottle-and-two-clear-glass-champagne-flutes-834896/)