In many ways, the world revolves around money. Do we have enough to live? To be comfortable? To impress people? To have power? To be perfectly blunt, there is no such thing as enough money. Look at the richest people in the world. They are pretty much all trying to get more. Why do they still need more? Aren’t they winning?
Well… money solves money problems. For people who never take the time to resolve the other types of problems, perhaps they keep falling back on what they know? If you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail. What about you? Are you too focused on money and missing everything else going on around you?
When there is too little money to even meet basic needs, we understand obsessing over money, but for those of us that live in the US or other industrialized nations, odds are that our basic needs are met. We want more though. We can buy a used cellphone and a cheap, basic plan, but that’s not what we want, is it?
Why is this?
Many of us have not taken the time to explore our emotional and social needs and problems. To be fair, this is really the first time in history that needs have been so close to guaranteed that we can really explore our other needs as a collective group. What we know how to do, what we’ve seen modelled, is how to get more so we can survive. So that is what we do. Maybe it’s time for more.
Let’s just jump right in. What is your purpose in life? What is the meaning of life?
Did that question shock you? Do you have an answer?
These are not easy questions to answer. They take time and deliberate thought. They are much harder to answer than, “How can I make more money.”
The earlier in our lives that we explore these existential questions, the more content our life is likely to be and the more we will be able to enjoy the moments of our short existence. When done well, we also may be able to answer and solve a lot of those financial questions too.
The good news is that it is never too late. If we start today, we can still improve the quality of our remaining days. I think a lot of people are afraid of these questions because it feels like they will have too many regrets about the past. Maybe you will. Or maybe we can realize that growth takes time. We can grow now. The past was how we learned the lessons that will make us better now.
Start asking yourself some basic questions.
When do I feel the most fulfilled?
If I found out I had terminal cancer, what would I want to do? What would I regret?
What do I want people to say about me at my funeral?
What do I want my legacy to be?
These questions can point the way forward. If you want people to say what a great friend or parent you were, it’s a sign that you want to direct your energy to improving those relationships. If you want people to talk about your impact on the community, well… what is your impact on the community now? Can you do more without burning out?
I promise you, no one at your funeral will be talking about how you always had the newest phone. This is one of the reasons that answering these questions will impact your finances as well. Why are you working so hard? Is it so you can give it all away to big corporations and impress your coworkers for 5 minutes? I bet it’s not.
Money isn’t why you are on this earth. Money won’t make you happy. It is a tool. It only solves money problems.
Maybe it’s time to look at the rest of your life? What problems are you avoiding dealing with? What are you spending on to avoid thinking about? We can’t buy our way into real friendships. We can’t buy respect and loyalty, at least not the real kind. We can’t keep our loved ones from dying. We can’t avoid death ourselves. I bet at least some of your money goes to things that distract from these problems.
What if, instead of buying more to distract us, we spent time with the people who we will miss when they pass? Then we won’t have regrets to avoid thinking about. What if instead of spending money on the latest at-home recreational device, we instead went to events in our community to meet people, make friends, and to make a difference in our community. What if instead of focusing on having the latest phone, we focus on who we plan to call on it?
Money solves money problems.
The interesting surprise is that if we work on solving the rest of our problems, we seem to have fewer money problems to solve.
I wish peace to all of you. Hopefully you are working on some of your own non-money problems.
Much love. Now go forth and do great things in your better lived life!
