It is fairly well documented that money does not lead to happiness. Yet many of us still strive to be rich. I often think about something Jim Carrey once said on the matter “I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know that its not the answer.” I don’t believe that money leads to happiness however I do wonder could money help us to discover who we really are?
“I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know that its not the answer.” – Jim Carrey.
We all know the feeling of wishing we had more. I can’t be the only one who thinks about quitting my day job and travelling the world at least once per week. And I am sure we’ve all allowed ourselves to dream about what we’d do if we won the lotto.
Excuses, excuses, excuses..
However, we are probably also all guilty of using our lack of riches as an excuse for not living the life we desire. And yes, I know you can’t just quit your job and travel the world. However there are ways to realise your ‘dreams’ in other ways without being rich. Why not become a digital nomad where you combine work and travel? If you think you can’t then check out 5 Ways To Become A Digital Nomad and you’ll realise it is possible, if you want it enough.
What else are we not doing or delaying because we don’t have enough money (or so we say). Have you ever thought to yourself “If I didn’t have to work I’d volunteer and give back”. If that is truly the life you want to live, why not make it happen now?
We are all guilty of using excuses to avoid living for our true authentic self. I wonder if having that money we so desperately seek would actually help us to discover who we really are?
Just Imagine..
Imagine if you had all the wealth and time in the world. If you could wake up every morning without having to do anything in particular, what would you do? How would you pass the time? Of course for the first few years you might live an extravagant lifestyle but after you’ve bought a few luxury items and travelled to all of the exotic places you dream about, then what?
It takes a lot of thought to really figure this out and even then we can’t really be sure about what we would do in some cases. I think this is because we don’t really know who we are. And having that money would actually expose us and help us to discover who we really are, when everything is a choice and nothing is a necessity.
Back To Reality..
In reality, a life without some struggle and sacrifice is a life without purpose. And as human beings, we are driven by purpose, whether we like it or not. Even with all the money in the world, without purpose we will be ultimately unfulfilled. Purpose leads to true fulfilment. And purpose is not achieved with money. In fact the two are completely independent.
And purpose is not achieved with money. In fact the two are completely independent of each other. You can have lots of money and no purpose. But you can also have little money and a lot of purpose. Ideally we would all live in between with enough money and enough purpose to be content.
Maybe having money could help us to discover who we really are but in truth, we can strive for purpose, exactly as we are now. And in this we discover who we really are too. We don’t need a better job or more money. We have everything we need to find contentment and fulfilment through purpose.
So instead of putting our lives on pause until we have the freedom we need to be ourselves, why not put the time and effort into finding our purpose. Finding out who we truly are, today in the life we have right now. And, if we happen to become filthy rich in the process then so be it, we can have purpose with an expensive car parked outside.
If you enjoyed our alternative approach in this post, you may also like others like What If I don’t Want A Career, 3 Simple Alternatives, Why You Need To Stop Buying Stuff! Seek Experiences Instead or 8 Ways To Help Yourself When You Are Feeling Lost.