Materialism is toxic for our happiness. As a rich materialist, once upon a time, I was never as happy as those who could not care less about getting and spending, I was always trapped in a lifestyle, stuck on the treadmill of keeping up with the Jones leaving little time to think about anything but myself and my needs.
There are two things that don't cost money that make us happy, one is thinking about what we are grateful for which amplifies our happiness and forgiveness which sets us free from pain and leaves us feeling much lighter. Life has to be more about fun and less about stuff if you want to be truly happy. We have to set ourselves attainable goals and make sure we keep firmly in mind that everything we get in this World, has a price tag and we have to be willing to pay the price, otherwise we are not serious about life, just window shopping.
When I was rich I had everything money can buy but in the currency of blessing, I was bankrupt. I was always trying to impress others, buy them, buy things for them and often I could not tell if they wanted to be with me because I was fantastic or just because I had more money than them. Now days I always try to follow my heart and dream big, even if it means doing something that most people would think was "crazy." I used to get really stressed a lot of the time, always worrying about how I looked, what others thought about me, never really feeding my mind, just my ego.
Exercise, well being, learning to relax and do only the things I enjoy, has helped me become centred in a big way, so nowadays I never let money rule my thinking or my happiness.
The fact is I do have a choice each and every day to do what I want to do. I can either enjoy myself fully or get stressed out and complain about why things aren't different.
Your happiness is all about perspective and attitude.
It's crazy how a simple mind-set switch can completely change everything. You think money is the key to happiness and the answer to your prayers but believe me, if you are spending your life paying back debt, for stuff that did not take you forward you will never be on top. Currently almost half the population are drowning in debt after living it up with a lifestyle they just could not afford in the first place and 3.5 million say they need to take out a loan to pay for Christmas. Pay day loans may be the instant fix in the moment but are crippling long term, as lenders rub their hands with 4000% interest rates and for what? One day?
If you cannot afford to be a sheep any longer, running aimlessly with the flock, keeping up with the Jones, stop stressing out, sit back, relax and do something unique without money, like enjoy the time to rest and recoup. Spending quality time with family and friends is way more important than shopping for stuff you cannot afford and don’t buy into giving gifts, let your gift be laughter, gratitude and forgiveness.
For most it will be hard to change the habit of a lifetime because we only know what we know, until we know something else, so don’t let change become an obstacle when in reality you have no choice but to change.
The thing about obstacles is that they are rarely as big as we make them out to be in our head, so try not to let anything get in the way of reaching your goal to be happy, debt free and healthy.
Love the way you talk about happiness being within our control not just some abstract thing that randomly comes and goes. It seems to me our culture has steered our thinking over time and set us on the wrong track of constantly looking instead of constantly being and doing.
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