In his book “The Art of Thinking Clearly”, Rolf Dobelli tells the story of his friend, who decided to build himself a new home away from the city. His villa had ten rooms, a swimming pool and an enviable view of the lake and mountains.
While he was delighted at his new possession for the first few weeks, he soon got used to it. The villa was no longer his dream. ‘I come home from work, open the door and?. . .?nothing. I feel as indifferent about the villa as I did about my one-room student apartment.’ However, six months later, he was unhappier than ever because he faced a one-hour commute twice a day, which he hated.
This story offers us the following lessons.
- All material things like cars, houses, increments and bonuses, promotions, positions, and fame can provide you only short-term joy, and the happiness due to them soon withers off.
- There are certain negative things that you can never get used to, like humiliation, hatred, working long hours, lack of sleep, frequent anger, commuting, noise, chronic stress, guilt, and fear of getting caught in an illegal or immoral act, or not being able to achieve the target, or meet the deadline.
The biggest financial mistake people make is to invest in things that can’t provide them long-term joy. However, to earn the money, they commit themselves to a lifestyle that consists of negative things that they can never get used to.
For instance,
- If I have $1 million and buy a house worth $5 million, I will soon get used to the house, but with the $4 million mortgage, I have to slog for several years and do so many things, which I would hate to do.
- Instead, if I buy a house for just $500 thousand, I will get used to this house as well very soon. However, due to the money I have saved, I can live my life on my own terms and conditions and never have to do anything against my will.
Indian poet Gowswmi Tulsidas well said, “A dependent person can’t enjoy happiness even in his dreams.” (Hindi: Paradhin sukh sapneu nahi)
Instead of buying things, your goal should be to buy freedom and time in life as soon as possible because only a free person with enough time to do what he loves and no compulsion to do anything he does not wish to do can enjoy true happiness in life. So,
- Don’t spend your hard-earned money on things that provide you comfort, ego satisfaction, impressing the world, pleasure, or fame.
- Invest your money in a way that can pave the way for freedom and the luxury of time, following your passion and building strong relationships with family and friends.
Source of picture: Google Image
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