“Will money make you happy?”
Kristjan Vingel
We’ve all heard this question. Some hear it constantly by their jealous peers who try to rationalize their life and choices. Essentially this question doesn’t make any sense.
Let’s turn it around and ask instead: “Will not having money make you happy?”
Money itself is useless - but what it does is, give you freedom of choice. Freedom to choose whatever you want to do, whenever you want it.
Now, I don’t know if freedom makes people happy or not, but not having freedom definitely doesn’t. But probably there’s some exception somewhere out there.
However, the social conditioning we grow up around tells us that having too much money is a bad thing - even wanting money is frowned upon. If you want money, you’re greedy, cold, and calculative soulless capitalist.
It’s also ironic that these statements usually come from people who don’t have any money themselves. Why? They want to rationalize and make sense of their own life - to excuse themselves.
Now, I’m not rich by any means, but I have massive respect towards people who are. At least for the ones who have earned it themselves. And most rich people today have earned their wealth - not inherited it.
There’s no need to be ashamed to want money or talk about it openly. After all, is wanting a lot of freedom and a good life a bad thing? No, it’s not.
KRISTJAN
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Hi, I'm Kristjan. I'm a software engineer from Estonia. I like to write about life and self-development.