Contents
Step 72: “People are not happier when there is more money in their life”
The 88 rungs of happy people
In this chapter of “The 88 Steps of Happy People” I explain to you what is the greatest paradox of the XNUMXst century
They are desperate. They have been lost in the desert for several hours and they know that the greatest danger is not spending too many days without eating or sleeping, but spending too many hours without drinking. They look in all directions and see only sand. And Sun. Too much sun. Suddenly, in the distance, one of the members of the expedition spots a traveling peasant. They yell at him and wave their arms wildly until they get his attention. They run to meet him and without time to catch a breath, they ask him if he knows where a spring is nearby. Whichever. The farmer, with a serious face and sparing in words, tells them that the closest one is 20 km in a straight line. They, leaving the conversation in half, take their carafes and start running frantically towards their goal. But there was a problem. His question to the farmer was if he knew where there was a spring, not if his water … was drinkable.
They invested XNUMX percent of their energy in reaching their goal, and zero percent in analyzing whether it was the right one.
This is the great paradox of the XNUMXst century. There is a goal that is the most coveted of all there may be. Which? The money. And what happens once we reach it? That we realize that all the years we invested in finding it have not managed to increase our level of happiness one iota. We start running desperately looking for the supposed source of life, and once we have reached it, we realize that the source of happiness did not lie there.
Or what is the same…
Does that mean that money is terrible and that we should hate and despise it?
Nooo! Absolutely. In fact, I defend that there is an excess of hatred of money among a sector of the population that took the previous principle and went to the opposite extreme. And this hatred is harmful. Listen to me why: money is an enabler, and therefore, as long as it is used for a purpose greater than money itself, it will be absolutely wonderful, since it enables: makes possible (constructive) things to happen. I wish people had more and not less money, of course working with commitment towards it. But this is not a contradiction. Money is great as long as the next principle is understood, and terrible when it is not. Stay with him to forever reconcile both positions:
Happiness is built in, not out. And that depends a little on money and a lot on Inner Success. Prepare yourself because I am about to close this Step with what may be the maximum number 1 of this book. Record it over fire and share it:
# 88StepsPeopleHappy
«People are not happier when there is more money in their life. He is happier when there is more love in his life »
@Angel