Living rich is not only about money.
There is a lot of money to go around out there – And yes, it is true that it is available in only a few hands. This does not mean that you are not rich if you do not have $100 in your bank account right now.
Perhaps it is time that we started to re-define wealth. Wealth is not only about the size of a bank account statement. It is the sum total of your condition in life. For instance, there may be an individual who has a lot of dollar bills lying around in bank accounts, investments spread across multiple portfolios, real estate holdings on every continent on the planet…
And yet, this individual is miserable – As in, unhappy, unfulfilled, unsatisfied with life, maybe even depressed. When the mind is in such a state, the wealth portfolio does not amount to much.
This is why I consider true wealth to be beyond material possessions. Indeed, having stuff is part of being wealthy. But having all round wellness – Mind, body and spirit – represents the greater type of wealth.
I know that there are commentaries against this notion. I can hear the suggestions that would arise against this idea of “the greater type of wealth.” Someone may say: You have not been poor before. Poverty is the absolute misery. Give me the fat bank account and real estate holdings anytime, and I will show you that it is enough to make me happy!”
Maybe so. But, let us consider a simple economic principle for a moment. If you have heard of the term “Utility”, it means satisfaction. A person can derive satisfaction from something only to an extent. After consuming that thing to a point, their satisfaction in it starts to decrease. It is like buying a new, shiny thing today. Lets say you purchase a Porsche. Your excitement knows no bounds. You drive it all around town. You want all your friends to see you in it. While you may never tire of people seeing you driving it, there comes a time when that original excitement, happiness if you will, begins to die down. You are ready for the next thing that will make you happy. The Porsche is no longer the source of your happiness. Time to move on.
The same applies to money. How often have you bought one thing or the other and before you know it, you are moving on to the next thing that will lift up your spirits?
This is my point on this topic – It is good to be well provided for. It is good to have money. But it is not good to make money the source of lasting happiness, identity or wellbeing – Because it does not have the capability to give such type of wealth. Its utility is only for a short while until the next attraction.
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