What Money Doesn’t Solve
When I was a teenager, I used to think that almost all my problems would go away only if I had enough money.
I still think I don’t have enough money, but I have learned to look at the world a little differently, I have found that my initial observations were only partly true.
And I hope sharing that view could also change how you look at things, if you feel the same way I felt. With this article, I hope to encourage people like me, who had not much wealth to begin with, to make most of your resources without looking upon wealth to solve your problems.
I’ll go over each aspect upon which I originally formed my opinion. And I am going to assume that you, as me, have only limited wealth.
Physical Health
Having money certainly gives you some freedom of choice for what you eat. But as long as you can afford proper meals twice a day, having more money than that has little or no effect on your choice of healthy lifestyle.
Exercise at least 4 times a week in whatever capacity you can and eat healthy, avoid overeating. Having proportionate body shape is not enough, take care of your eyes, back, knees, bones, etc.
Have good posture, rest your eyes well and include nutritious food in your diet, take a walk in the evening to breathe fresh air.
Try to get rid of bad habits like smoking or excessive drinking, you will pay the price if you don’t.
Mental Health
For me, mental health is not just about being free from anxiety and depression as it may be the first impression for most people when we talk about mental health. For me, it is about the quality of thoughts one thinks.
Not having enough money to afford your needs can be mentally paralyzing and I am no stranger to that. You get frustrated because of your inability to make ends meet or you can’t compete against someone who had access to far better resources than you growing up or your job doesn’t pay you enough for your efforts. But progress is still progress and don’t let these thoughts stop you from making any progress, however small.
In my experience, it’s more about the company you keep, the goals you want to achieve and the efforts you make to achieve these goals than the money you have.
Money is a problem today, but you will later thank yourself for having a dream that is not bound by the wealth you have right now. Have people who understand and support if not share your vision, that is, if you can.
Having a framework to guide you certainly helps. Set a few realistic goals for yourself no matter how small, and some aggressive goals for long-term no matter how big.
From another point of view, rich people are also equal victims of bad mental state. Therefore having money probably won’t get you far from these problems anyway, your thoughts are important for you journey.
Time
Time is probably the most limited resource one has.
You could create abundance of almost anything, except for time. You would always have same 24 hours a day, and days go by faster with your age.
With money you could save some time and effort, buying convenience whenever possible. Instead of walking, you could drive or get a taxi. And if you had crazy money, you can have people do things for you. But that can save only so much time, specially the time that needs to be spent by you to experience something.
Maybe the right question to ask here is how to get most of your time. Be very careful about using your time. Prioritize on activities that align with your goals. Learn about time-boxing which is a very good technique to get the most of your time. If you learn this now, you’ll appreciate it when you have wealth because you’ll need this skill.
All humans stills need time to carry out daily activities, to meet their friends and relatives, to exercise, to play with their children, to have fun, etc.
Friends & Family
Everyone needs people in life who truly care about them. And it’s safe to say that such people won’t have much self-interest other than expecting you to be for them in times of need and you can expect the same. They don’t care whether you have money or not. In fact, from what I have seen and what people generally tell me, having money attracts a lot of people not worthy of your trust.
You should be as truthful as possible with people in your life. You should be willing to help people if you are in the position to, without expecting anything in return. I have found that to be the basis of most of my long-term friendships.
I have observed that I tend to look for kindness in people as the most important trait, even with difference in interests and opinion. Try to be less judgemental and more understanding.
Character
Discipline, Integrity, Modesty, Humility, Kindness. These qualities have mostly nothing to do with the wealth you own. You could have tons of wealth and still be missing these qualities.
Discipline
Whenever I feel lazy, I try to remind myself that if I am not lazy today, I’ll bear less burden tomorrow, as I call it the debt of laziness.
There is no direct relation about having discipline and wealth.
In most activities, there is something called The Dip which you face when the progress is not very obvious and to keep going seems challenging, it’s almost inevitable irrespective of the person. Being aware about whether or not you are in the dip can shift your perspective and help you be little more persistent.
Integrity
Integrity is another important quality which makes you stand out from the crowd. If you are honest with what you do, you will try to do it the best possible way you can.
Probably more could be said on this topic, but I would leave it for the reader to ponder.
I want to hear other people’s opinion on this topic. Please share if you want to. :)
