My rich uncle used to say 'I'm at a good place. Not emotionally... I'm at the bank to check my babies [money].' OK, he actually never said that. But most people have an intimate attachment to money, that they would die without money.
Try to imagine...
You have just received that much-needed promotion from your job or strike it rich in the lottery or a lucrative business (or book publishing deal) contract. Finally, you get to live your dream lifestyle: mansions, exclusive parties, butlers, cooks, maids, Royce Rolls cars, diamonds, designer clothing and many other celebrity pampering offers.
However, after awhile life gets to be a dull place to be. People would come and go and you feel that you have nothing else to look forward to in life. You have already achieved everything you had ever wanted.
Western culture has been a promoter of this wrong message over the past centuries. This materialistic yardstick is grounded in the ancient Greco-Roman philosophy. Success, wealth and happiness is defined by the world’s standards in terms of how much money, power and fame a person has.
As a result, people define themselves by their jobs, qualifications, or material wealth.
Today, we will find some people who are too big to find common ground with the ‘little’ people, acting like glorious kings and queens with little regard for the peasants. What happened to being humble?
The real question is not ‘how much you got?’ But are you happy with what you got? Many rich and famous personalities have a host of problems because they only devoted themselves to the pursuit of money and fame.
Many a people’s distorted quest for fame and wealth are motivated by unpleasant feelings, rather than pleasant ones. Under the materialistic culture, stuff can develop a hold over you.
Once a person is distracted from the physiological goal—according to Abraham Maslow, it is the need for basic survival supplies—food, clothes and a shelter. And to add more: Generally humans have a need for warmth. Humans have a need for positive interactionswith others such as is reflected in being like liked, accepted, loved and respected—Social Psychology, Twelfth Edition. Pearson International Edition.
So that person’s interests are often driven by a powerful urge to compensate for the lack of self-esteem and self-worth. This article doesn’t condemn money or wealthy people. But it shows it’s their perception that they have become more important, powerful and successful by having money. Power corrupts.
Think about the people whom you have met. Some of those people demand respect because of the size of their bank accounts or social status. Let’s briefly review some points to improve your life:
1. What is your message. What are you sending? Is it positive or negative? As Frank Sonnenberg eloquently stated ‘Cheating has become a substitute for hard work; you have to be ruthless to to get ahead, drugs are your rewards for success; life is about stuff, not people; relationships are disposable, the only thing that matters is winning.’
2. The millionaire (or billionaire) lifestyle is overrated. A person doesn’t have to have a sport car, designer clothing etc., in order to be happy or fulfilled. These are just images of glamour, not necessarily reflect true fulfilment and happiness. Be love with the process, not the result of it.
3. Be content. It’s not to say that money is inherently evil. But look around and see if those who have lots and lots of money are happy with their lives. It's very unhealthy and unwise to complain about what you don’t have. If you have not worked out your reason for living, having money or donating half of it won’t solve all your problems.
4. Life on the mountain top is tough. The wealthy struggle with many things such as finding friends. It’s tiresome trying to figure out between people who are genuinely interested in them or those who simply want to be with them because of money.
On another hand, many wealthy individuals struggle with stress and anxiety. The first half of their lives, is working extremely hard to acquire wealth and the last half of their lives, is working extremely hard to secure the wealth they spent their half lives working to gain in the first place.
No comments:
Post a Comment