Money doesn’t bring happiness. Money doesn’t matter. There is more to life than money. We find this wisdom passed down from generation to generation. I have started to think about what money means to me at this stage in life.
When I was younger, money was the scoreboard. Then as I got a little bit older, money provided opportunities. Now money is about granting me the luxury of being a man of comfortable leisure. In our current society, money has taken on new power. For one, people can build some really cool things. Money can help you acquire things, but over time we lose interest in many of these things, and the cycle repeats itself.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with liking things and having hobbies that require money. However, it is when money and the things we own begin to shape our identity, that we begin to lose sight of what is really important. This is easy to do, especially in the social media-driven climate we live in. Scroll through your feed right now, and I would be surprised if the majority of the posting didn’t include some sort of material object. Just as it’s essential to understand your values, I also believe it’s important to understand what money means to you.
We don’t ask ourselves this question enough. Money is a versatile tool that can be used to our discretion. For good and for bad. Once we decide how we want to use money, its power over us begins to weaken. We do not need money to be complete individuals. Still, we do need money to feel a sense of security, especially our first stages of hierarchal needs (Psychological and Safety).
Opportunities seem to magically appear when we stop making decisions because of money and are no longer are a slave to the paper. Once we accept that money does not define who we are nor what we are capable of doing, we can begin to make choices with a clearer conscience. With less noise and a stronger signal.
Money is a tool, nothing more, nothing less. Your skills, abilities, knowledge, and talents define how effectively you utilize that tool. We always assume we need more, but many times we need to expand our skill sets. The most successful people are successful not because they have money but are successful because they are resourceful. Money is a by-product of acquiring the skillset of resourcefulness.
It’s true money doesn’t bring happiness, and there is more to life than money. More importantly, money is simply a tool, a resource.
