Moneywise24 Personal Finance

For quite some time I was pretty obsessed with money; I wanted more, bigger salaries, huge cars, the list is endless. This obsession started when I moved to a larger city right after I graduated, and I felt really bad to be at the bottom of the ladder, just starting my career from scratch. I saw BMWs and Porches driving around, peope I met were bragging about their brand new penthouse in the city center, a Maserati comes by with a 20-year old blonde at the wheel. I got so caught up with what I thought had to be the average living standard, that in my very first application I sent out, I asked for an annual salary of 200 thousand Dollars (and this is not a joke).

Soon I discovered that everything I experienced was only a big fasade; all the successful people who had earned their money with hard work did all they could to show it off, and those with moderate jobs tried to hide what they didn’t have; the sales clerk at the counter of a department store would put on a suit for tonight’s after-work party and tell everyone in the club that he makes half a million at a large investment bank.

Many people are so preoccupied and virtually obsessed with their career and with becoming wealthy, that they often disregard the other vital areas of their lives. The results are usually depressions, burn outs, health deficits and a poor social life. What should we take into account if we want to lead a healthy and fulfilling life?

A few months ago I had the pleasure to meet a psychologist during a social gathering. As we started to get to know each other, we talked about our work, and as the conversation progressed she casually mentioned the disturbing increase of burnout cases and people with depressions. Whereas the majority of patients seemed to be men, the number of female patients was alarmingly increasing as well. With these words in the back of my head, I started noticing how money- and career oriented many people are: 60 working hours or more per week is not uncommon for many people, people are on unhealthy diets, continuously being on the move, and their social activities suffer. Even those people, who do have enough spare time, seem to be so much preoccupied with money, career building, and wealth.

But life has much more to offer than being wealthy. In fact, each and every person has three basic areas in his/her life, which needs to be satisfied in order for any person to be truly happy. If one area is neglected, the others will suffer. This might acutually often result in a viscious circle, during which the life of an individual starts to crumble down.

Health

Leading a healthy life means being on a healthy diet, eating fruits and vegetables as frequently as possible, avoiding unhealthy fat food, and doing sports on a regular basis in order to keep the body fit. Being healthy also means having a positive and confident state of mind; a healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body. 

If your body is not healthy and fit, it may result in an increased doctor’s and medication bill, impacting your wealth negatively. Additionally, you are prone to being sick more often, and therefore not being able to go to work or to socialize. It will be harder to bond with your friend and family, and to find or maintain a partner. Additionally, a person who is overweight will typically work for a lower wage than someone who is in good shape, doing the same kind of work.

Psychological disorders might be just as severe. This includes any form of depression, mistrust in people or society, insecurity, or anything which may impact a person’s life in a negative way. Many people do not even know that their state of mind is not as it should be. As a result, people with psychological disorder may have a difficult time finding friends, leading an active social life, or negotiating the salary they deserve. In the worst case, a bad state of mind may result in people losing their jobs due to increased sickness or their inability to concetrate over a long period of time, and the mental disorder may become physical, such as skin or heart disease.

Relationships

Each and every person needs to engage in relationships with other people. Humans are very social beings, be it with friends, family, or a sexual partner. If a person’s social life suffers for whatever reason, it is likely that depressions are on their way. A person with unhealthy relationships, or the inability to find new friends, may find himself/herself in isolation quickly, which is unlikely to contribute to his/her well-being.

In its turn, depressions are likely to lead to not being able to concetrate at work, and the start of chronic diseases (the skin, for example, is very sensitive to an individual’s well-being… cases of skin diseases such as psoriasys or neurodermitis are increasing). A bad state of mind may additionally cause a very unhealthy diet, and the start of addictions, which trigger that feeling of ‘happiness’.

Wealth

Money is an important instrument to obtaining a number of basic needs for survival: shelter, food, water and medical care if required. However, there is more to life than simply the basic needs. Humans have the need to develop hobbies, activities and social lives. They want to travel, explore the world, learn a new language, go to college, be mobile. If there is a severe lack of money (or time due to too much focus on a career), a person will not have the means to do all that. They will have a hard time to go out and perhaps meet new people; that person will not be able to pay for his/her doctor’s bills; that person might have very limited resources available to any type of sports, and he/she will be able to afford only the cheapest kind of food, in stead of the healthiest. All this may impact his health in a negative way, it may create a feeling of isolation, depressions, and the relationship with friends and family might suffer.

The first, and perhaps most important step, towards leading a fulfilling life is the recognition of the above mentioned areas, and a self-analysis of which area needs development. It might be extremely difficult to focus on all of the three areas simultaneously if they are not already in good shape. For myself, stepping back from the idea of wanting to be a millionnaire yesterday has helped me tremendously, and allowed me to focus on all areas of my life simultaneously. I still keep a certain focus on building wealth at the long term, but not being wealthy does not make me unhappy.