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August 27, 2015

Our Harmful Pursuit of Money.

money clip cash

In Western society, it seems we are hard-wired to measure our success or value as a human in terms of how much is in our bank account.

Many of us are caught in a world of envy and greed, wanting more and thinking we need more. This can only lead to a world of anxiety, depression and general angst. After all, there will always be someone who is “winning” the money battle more than we are.

If money accumulation is your driving focus in life, here are some tips to turn to a more meaningful life—because meaning does not come in how much we have.

1. Money as potato chips:

Think of the wants and needs. Your potato chips are shelter, food, water and health. That’s it. That is all you need for happiness. Advertising must try and sell the air in the rest of the packet to us—we don’t need it and it will lead us to lose focus on what is really important in life: family, friends, connections. If we have our potato chips, why not help others around the world who do not? How is it fair that we get the latest gimmicky update of the Iphone, when over a billion people don’t have enough to eat?

2. Think of your funeral.

A bit morbid, but a useful exercise. Will people say “Greg had x amount of money in his bank account—what a great, successful person.” No. Nobody will care. It will be the memories and connections you’ve made with people, your values, acts of kindness and generosity that will continue on long after you’ve gone from this world.

3. Money is an unrewarding master.

Bob Marley’s quote sums it up here: “Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end.”

4. It is all about connectedness.

I have been guilty of been trapped in the feeling of “I could be making more money today; that should be my focus.” Recently, however I have joined a volunteer organisation that helps to grant the wishes of children with life threatening illnesses. Just to be able to offer them a ray of hope, excitement and a break from their challenges for a short time is so much more rewarding than building my bank account. We all have something that fires us up—it could be helping kids, animals, the elderly, eco issues—anything. But while we have breath in our bodies, we must make a difference.

5. The materialism treadmill is no fun.

We know the games advertisers and marketers are playing so why get sucked in? A world of debt is not fun. A much better way is to consider time your biggest asset. To accumulate vast sums of money, you need to give up vast amounts of time. Time that you could spend kicking a ball around with the kids, helping those that desperately need it, or time for ourselves. The values associated with minimalism really help to shift our ingrained focus from accumulation to meaningfulness. I recommend checking out the posts from “The Minimalists” to help with this.

Relephant:

What I Learned From Having an Affair With a Married Man.

 

Author: Dr. Greg Willson

Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photos: William/Flickr, Marc Levin/Flickr

 

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