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Life - "Enoughness Of Money (Part 1)

By : Ejji	Previous \| Next
Posted on : 09 Dec, 2005	Total Views : 1682

�Enoughness of Money� is my title for this article. I am not here to impose this faith on anyone. It is my way of thinking. I do not need any acceptance of this faith from any one. I do not say I am right. I accept I may be wrong. But this is my view, for myself. And I think I have been successful and positively I am happy. (Modesty is not my middle name!) Read me out. Dissent is the first quality of a thinking mind. In case you do not want to read me through, please feel free to leave whenever you want. It is my idea to share my thoughts, with constructive criticism from the dissenters, than to have only dormant acceptors.

Before I say anything about what this artice is, I want to begin by saying something about what it is not. This is a not a "get rich quick" or "think your way to riches" or �how to live� guide. You will not be asked to "think like a millionaire," "dress for success," or "climb the corporate ladder." You will find advice in this article on managing your life and planning for your retirement. There are more than enough experts and godmen of this kind in business already. In this article, the emphasis will be on a deeper experience of �enjoying being alive� than can be realized by the mere accumulation of goods or by amassing money with an impressive balance sheet.

To be sure, many of you will find that applying the principles contained in this article will, in time, bring greater material abundance into their lives. Some will find it a waste of time having read me through. I respect both varieties. Certainly, applying these principles will assist you in opening to receive the creative ideas from which all wealth ultimately springs. Yet this increased material abundance will come not from struggling to attain it as a goal in itself, but rather as a natural by-product of experiencing a deeper state of psychological abundance. The new feeling of abundance that you enjoy within will come to be reflected in all aspects of your outer life, including your finances. Yet even if you make not one rupee more, or even a few less, but come to earn your money in a way that truly reflects your nature and expresses who you are, your experience of abundance will be enhanced. Indeed, some may find that a truer experience of abundance requires that they relinquish their attachment to social status or the urge to be richer. Needless to say, doing this is very difficult, rather impossible, unless your mind tells you to do it, without any axioms attached.

Mental peace is about so much more than money. A "healthy bottom line" does not equate with a healthy and abundant state of mind. Evidence of the psychological and spiritual poverty of the rich and famous fills our newspapers, magazines, tabloids, and television programs and hardly needs repeating here. Suffice to say that many who own great stockpiles of material possessions, and who are, to all outer appearances, extremely wealthy individuals, do not enjoy real abundance. They are never content with what they have, and live in fear of losing it. Clearly, real abundance must be something more than having a lot of money and things. But then how do we approach it?

The fundamental premise of this article is that your life is you and is for you. If you put yourself in accord with the way of enjoying your life, it will take care of you abundantly. To experience this abundance, there is nothing you need do first, but sit back and think of yourself and what life means to you. All that is required is that you become aware of the inner process through which you create an experience of lack and struggle in your life, and refrain from doing it. Feelings of abundance and gratitude are natural to the human being; they do not need to be added or put on. We have only to become aware of how we are resisting and inhibiting this natural state.

Throughout this article, you will be asked to accept responsibility for creating your own experience of abundance or lack. Of course, no individual operates in a vacuum. It would be absurd to deny the impact that the values and organization of the broader society have on us as individuals. In an effort to secure the ever-expanding earning and consumption upon which its "health" depends, modern commercial culture vigorously promotes a "lack consciousness." We buy things we don't need (or even want), because we have become convinced that we will be somehow lacking or inferior without them. Like expensive cars which are an external symbol of having arrived, though any good car as a medium of transport will not give you the exclusivity to be known as �having arrived�. We do work we don't want to do, because we have become convinced that there is a fear of scarcity of money and that we can't be sure we wont need more. Thus, even while we amass more and more money, the feeling of abundance keeps eluding us. In addition to the role that the values of the broader society have in promoting a psychology of lack within the individual, the current organization of society poses institutional barriers to his or her creative development and financial independence.

Nevertheless, ultimate responsibility for the individual's experience lies with the individual, not with the culture into which he or she has been born. Awareness of the broader social dynamics that promote a consciousness of lack, as well as the inner ego drives that bind us to them, empowers us to break, once and for all, the chains of psychological poverty and lack. This article will address the root causes of the psychology of lack, and how these can be overcome. To overcome it or not, I will not decide.

Ultimately, the system is the ego. Freeing ourselves from the dominance and control of this system will be our primary concern. What we see reflected in the broader social and economic system ~ alienation, attachment, struggle, resentment, craving for approval, competitive hostility, pride, greed, and chaos originate within the ego. �We are the system", as J. Krishnamurti put it, long before the popular song: �We are the world" was made popular. This article will contrast the way of contentment with the way of the ego. The way of the ego necessarily produces a �psychology of lack�, one that cannot be overcome, regardless of the quantity of money or goods we accumulate. Alternatively, shedding the mask of �existing� and starting to �live� naturally yields a feeling of abundance, regardless of how great or meager our accumulation of money and goods may be. Though he was often without money, and at times even food, William Blake's poetry exudes abundance. As he put it:

I have mental joys and mental health,
Mental friends and mental wealth,
I've a wife that I love and that loves me;
I've all but riches bodily.

This is not to say that we should reject material wealth or shun the blessings that come with it. With money, much good can be done and much unnecessary suffering avoided or eliminated. Moreover, in the culture we live in today, time is money and money is power. It takes time to appreciate and enjoy life and all of its simple beauties. It takes time to stop and listen to the voice of our true selves and understand what we want to do. It takes time to develop our gifts and talents. It takes time to learn and grow. It takes time to develop and nurture meaningful relationships. And in making time for all of these, money is a great help.

Money can also give us a measure of freedom from the control of others and in this respect is more important today than ever. Throughout most of human history, one did not need money to live, that is, for the basic necessities of life. For one unable or unwilling to fit into society's mold, there was always the option of retreating to some remote place and subsisting on the land an option that isn't really feasible today.

My values of freedom and preserving the dignity of the human spirit in this respect, would not object to Humphrey Bogart's assertion that "the only point in making money is, you can tell some big shot where to go." (He meant saying, � go to hell!�) The idea here is not to express (or harbor) hostility toward others but to affirm and follow your own path, free from intimidation or the control of others. The big shot might be a boss for whom you do soul-draining, monotonous work or a landlord or mortgage-holding bank, whom you must pay for the privilege of a little peace and quiet. Touch your hearts and tell me. Most of you can be considered �rich� in monetary terms. Most of you run empires worth crores of Indian rupees. Most of you have never for many years seen salaries that are less than 7 figure amounts. Can you boldly say that you have not stood outside a small time government official�s room to get your job done? Can you tell me that though you know the Finance Minister of India on first name basis, you have to put on a show of humility before the labor union leader of your organization. Have you not missed a party or a holiday or a music concert or even an evening with your family because your business commitments came in the way? Have you not got up in the middle of the night, turning over business problems in your mind? In as much as money is an important factor in determining the time we have to enjoy life and the power and freedom we have in it, the pursuit of money is a worthy goal. On the other hand, if we are looking to money to fulfill or satisfy us, we are sure to be disappointed.

In lacking money, we too often think a lack of money is our only problem. Money can give us the time to appreciate the simple things in life more fully, but not the spirit of innocence and wonder necessary to do so. Money can give us the time to develop our gifts and talents, but not the courage and discipline to do so. Money can give us the power to make a difference in the lives of others, but not the desire to do so. Money can give us the time to develop and nurture our relationships, but not the love and caring necessary to do so. Money can just as easily make us more jaded, escapist, selfish, and lonely. In short, money can help to free or enslave us, depending on why we want it and what we do with it. In this respect, nothing has changed in the two thousand years since Horace wrote, "Riches either serve or govern the possessor."

Money is a relatively simple issue. There are only two important questions: (1) How much do you need? (2) What is it going to cost you to get it? It is keeping these two questions in mind that gives us a true sense of money's relationship to you. If we have less than what we need, or if what we have is costing us too much, in either case our experience of �living� will be incomplete. As things stand in the modern world, you need money to eat, sleep, dress, work, play, relate, heal, move about, and keep the government off your back. In what style you choose to do each of these will determine how much money you need, that is, your lifestyle. Remember in choosing your style that it comes with a price tag. How much money it costs is not the issue, but how much the money costs you is of critical importance. Keep in mind:
Money should not cost you your soul.
Money should not cost you your relationships.
Money should not cost you your dignity.
Money should not cost you your health.
Money should not cost you your intelligence.
Money should not cost you your joy.
Money should not cost you the inability of doing anything unconnected with earning money, but close to your heart.
When it comes to determining how much you need, there are two important categories to keep in mind. First, there are the material things you need to keep body and soul together. Second are the areas of "need" related to social status and position. With both, you have a great deal of discretion. The ancient Taoist masters were keenly aware of the cost of money and were particularly skeptical of the cost of attaining social status and position. In the Lieh Tzu, Yang Chu says:

[People] realize happiness is not simply having their material needs
met. Thus, society has set up a system of rewards that go beyond
material goods. These include titles, social recognition, status, and
political power, all wrapped up in a package called self-fulfillment.
Attracted by these prizes and goaded on by social pressure, people
spend their short lives tiring mind and body to chase after these
goals. Perhaps this gives them the feeling that they have achieved
something in their lives, but in reality they have sacrificed a lot in life.
They can no longer see, hear, act, feel, or think from their hearts.
Everything they do is dictated by whether it can get them social, business or monetary
gains. In the end, they've spent their lives following other people's
demands and never lived a life of their own. How different is this
from the life of a prisoner or slave? . . .

In the short time we are here, we should listen to our own voices
and follow our own hearts. Why not be free and live your own life?
Why follow other people's rules and live to please others?

Why, indeed? In a recent study, 48 percent of the male corporate executives surveyed in India admitted that they felt their lives were empty and meaningless. When one considers the cultural taboos against such an admission, the figure is surprisingly high and leads one to conclude that the real number must be higher still. Yet these are the ones who have the money and status so many others desperately crave. Napoleon Hill, who wrote the classic "success" book Think and Grow Rich, learned the hard way that true riches can never be equated to dollars and cents. In a later work entitled Grow Rich! With Peace of Mind, he described how his own obsession with money and material success had indeed made him rich but had cost him his peace of mind, health, relationships, and ultimately, even his financial fortune. He acknowledged the spiritual dimension of true and lasting prosperity and determined that in reacquiring wealth, he would keep money in its proper place as but one of the many abundances of life.

Many think they'd be happy if they had enough money to give up working altogether. Yet this is often only a reaction to the drudgery of working day after day at things they find meaningless or even absurd. In response to my speeches on similar subjects, I receive many communications from people about their experience of work. One day, I received a phone call from a man halfway around the world who, at forty-five, had never worked a day in his life. As a beneficiary of a sizable inheritance, he was free of the need to earn his daily bread. Yet he was not a happy man. Indeed, he was deeply troubled by the fact that so much of his life had gone by without his having expressed his own talents. As a matter of fact he had just now realized he had talents! Like good health, spiritual growth, and nourishing relationships, meaningful work is one of the abundances of life, which we neglect at our peril. It is this kind of holistic approach to �living� and not �existing� that I will be taking you through.

To begin with, it's worthwhile to ask whether the world we live in is one of abundant happiness and wealth or scarcity of happiness and wealth. The way we answer this question depends in large part on how we define wealth. Traditionally, economists have defined wealth in terms of scarcity. In fact, economics itself is defined as "a science concerned with choosing among alternatives involving scarce resources." The first economists viewed land as the basis of wealth. While land provides sustenance and often an abundance of food to exchange for other items, there is a definite limit to the amount of land available for cultivation. Next came the mercantilists, who viewed gold and silver as the basis of wealth. Gold and silver are valuable because they are scarce. This conception of wealth spurred the colonial expansion of European nations, resulting in what remains to this day worldwide cultural and economic dominance by the moneyed nations. Later economists viewed labor as the basis of wealth. Early industrial development required vast numbers of "cheap" laborers. Generally, the more people one employed, the richer he became. Yet there is a finite number of workers and a finite number of hours each can work. All of these definitions of "wealth" (land, gold, and labor) then are based on limited, that is, scarce resources. Now, to state the obvious, if wealth is based on owning scarce resources, a relative few can be considered wealthy. If relative few are wealthy, it is needless to say that happiness takes a back seat. Scarcity of happiness also entirely depends upon your definition of wealth. How much of wealth is enough?

If we live in an abundant world, if we are all, as Buckminster Fuller puts it, billionaires, why do we see so many examples of scarcity and lack? Beyond issues of economic and political control and the distribution of wealth, most people believe in and operate from a psychology of scarcity and lack. The psychology of lack relies upon wide acceptance of the belief in physical scarcity. To be sure, there are powerful interests that have a stake in promoting and perpetuating this view. As Fuller puts it, "With their game of making money with money, the money-makers and their economists continue to exploit the general political and religious world's assumptions that a fundamental inadequacy of human life support exists around our planet." People who believe in lack are more likely to become lackeys for those who would manipulate them for their own purposes.

Whether or not we accept Fuller's findings, or even his definition of wealth, the important point here is to recognize that the way we define wealth has a great deal to do with our individual and collective experience of abundance or lack. Moreover, each us can benefit from challenging the assumption that we live in a world of scarcity and lack. On a more immediate level, we each might ask ourselves, if we don't already live in abundance. Certainly, on a material level, most of you here enjoy abundance unprecedented in human history. Think about all you have and enjoy. First and foremost, you have your life. I'm willing to guess that you have enough to eat, ample clothing, and a place to sleep, out of the elements. Beyond the basics, the average middle-class person in the developed world has a higher standard of living than the kings and queens of earlier eras enjoyed. We have running water and indoor toilets; we have air conditioning, and refrigeration. We eat exotic foods from all over the world. In Chennai, one can enjoy Australian grapes and South African Oranges and other foods, something even Queen Elizabeth I would have been unable to do. In addition, we have means of communication and transportation that would have seemed fantastic even a century ago. Through most of their time on this planet, the life expectancy of homo sapiens was about forty years. Today, a good many will live twice that long.

Regardless of the facts of making money on an individual or planetary level, for many, a feeling of lack persists. To be sure, the psychological factor is critical in determining our experience of making money or lack of it. Even hardheaded economists recognize the psychological component to wealth creation and valuation. When economists use terms such as "consumer confidence" or "investor confidence," they are recognizing the importance of the psychological dimension in economic life. In the fluctuations of the stock markets or in the individual valuation of a particular company and in a person�s assessment of �enough money�, psychological factors often play a significant role. The perception of, or belief in, the strength or weakness of a given market, company or wealth may override the "economic fundamentals" in the determination of value. Even the paper money we use, backed as it is by absolutely nothing, depends on our collective belief in it. If believing in the reality of planetary and individual �enough of money� is an act of faith, it is certainly no less an act of faith than believing in the real value of the paper money we use everyday.

Because the psychological dimension is so important to our experience of making money, I will address it at length. The principles examined here will provide powerful keys to embracing and integrating a psychology of �enoughness�. Groundwork will be laid for overcoming the sense of alienation and separation that are the underpinnings of a psychology of lack. Again, for most of us, the feeling of lack is not a result of a lack of things or material stuff. It is a sense of struggle and a lack of ease; a lack of energy; a feeling of powerlessness and blocked expression; a lack of harmony and connection in relationship; a lack of time to be, grow, and relate; and a lack of opportunity to fully appreciate and celebrate the beauty in life that give a sense of deficiency to our existence. Each of these "lacks" has to be considered, both in terms of understanding their causes, and in terms of practical suggestions for creating greater abundance in each of these areas.

The dynamics of the psychology of making money go like this: Simultaneous to the formation of the individual ego there arises a profound sense of lack of �enough� money, a feeling of separation from everything else in life. This sense of separation brings a feeling of contraction and a sense of incompleteness, which we try to mitigate through mental, physical, and emotional attachments to making more money. The perceived need to defend and expand our attachment to make more money, in turn, creates a feeling of struggle. Struggle brings resentment, ingratitude, and withholding, which rob us of joy and keep the energy from flowing freely in our lives. This leads us away from the path of our inborn pleasures that we always want to experience. Instead of following our own paths, we crave the approval and attention of others. This craving for approval, in turn, produces competitive hostility and envy. Envy, in turn, provokes greed, which agitates our minds and sends us on the mad chase that today we call the "rat race." In the process, we lose the ability to appreciate the simple enjoyments that come with leisure. Ultimately, this leads to a sense of chaos and confusion that obfuscates our innate intelligence and robs us of our capacity to appreciate the beauty in life. And leading all this is, �I should leave money for my progeny�. About this definite point, I will discuss later.

In addition to the inner or psychological dimension, I will address some of the social and economic factors that contribute to an individual and collective experience of lack of Leisure. The Tao of Abundance will be a good example. I do not purport to apply ancient wisdom to modern times, and in this, the modern times are as important as the ancient wisdom. I have no interest in spouting spiritual platitudes divorced from the social and economic context in which we live today. Rather, I will attempt to apply ancient, really, universal, principles to the situation we find ourselves in at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The classical Taoists were keen social observers. Lao Tzu, in particular, often had harsh words for those individuals and systems that oppress people or lead them away from their true natures and thus from the fulfillment of their inborn destinies. In the spirit of this tradition, I will address social and economic factors that contribute to a mass psychology of �not knowing enough of enoughness�, as well as institutional barriers that limit the natural creative development of individuals.

You may reject the values of the society that can be termed �retired rat race runners�. You may even be actively working to transform them. Still, you needn't make your own experience of �the power of endless money making� contingent on that change. To view the anti rate race system as an enemy that must be overcome before you can prosper and be happy is to put yourself in a position of powerlessness, frustration, and resentment. While there is a place for collective action, the emphasis will be on what we as individuals can do to enhance our own experience of wealth and well-being within the system as it now exists. By becoming living examples of genuine people who �live� our own lives and stop �existing�, we participate in the transformation of the broader culture. While no individual can single-handedly change the popular global phenomenon, each of us can transform our own experience. Where once we saw lack of time, debt of hobbies, and conflict of interest, we can begin to see gifts, opportunities, and mutual support. We can each, in our own way, challenge the widespread belief that we live in a world of endless money making.

Life is more holistic in its scope, the entire issue being the quality of life, and not simply financial goals. It assumes an innate order in life, one that we as individuals realize as we fulfill our inborn desires other than making money and living up with the Joneses. It further assumes that the world we live in, the world we grow out of, is a real one.

Now, if in fact, we live in a world of monetary goals, there are three primary tasks for us on the journey to a life of total peace. The first task is to recognize the inner and outer forces that conspire to make us believe in the rat race and thus to feel lack of peace. Awareness of these factors will help us to overcome their influence over us. The second task is to cultivate a spirit of satisfaction in our lives, celebrating the gift of life with joy and thanksgiving. As we focus in our thoughts and actions on things that bring a feeling a connection with all life, we begin to move with the flow of retiring from the rat race. In this way, we allow blessings to come to us as a part of the "overflow" of a realization not as things we crave and struggle for from a sense of lack or desperation or even the un-satiated urge to earn more. The result from lack of this knowledge can only bring lack of happiness and peace, even when we get what we think we need. On the other hand, when we come from the spirit of �this is enough�, we attract ever greater achievement..

Finally, as we move in the world from the spirit of �this is enough�, we become a liberating and empowering force in the lives of those we interact with. We help them see, not by preaching, but by example, that we all live in an abundant world and that they as well can free themselves from lack consciousness. Together, we can unite in a spirit of abundance and create new patterns of community and social organization, new lifestyles, and new ways of relating, based on cooperation rather than competition. As envy, greed, and competition flow from lack of �enoughness�, so do compassion, service, and cooperation flow from a spirit of �enoughness�. It is this spirit of �enoughness� that will be our guide as we embark on the journey to creating total �enoughness� in our lives.

For a person who has attained the �nirvana of enoughness�, these few lines will not mean much. But to those struggling to press their brakes when the vehicle of life (making money) is going uphill at full speed, you must realize that even if the brakes don�t work, the vehicle will stop on its own some place, but will start rolling backwards soon. And even then your brakes wont be working!!
Think about these points.
Money is not very important, nor is it related at all to your happiness.
Most of us have a sense that money is important and believe that it could be the route to happiness.
Most have an unrealistic belief that money will solve your problems.
Experts say there's a link between overworking, earning more than necessary, excesive spending, and stress.
Whether or not you believe that the love of money is the root of all evil, chances are you have an opinion about what money means. To some, it represents success, fame. To others: power, acceptance, material goods and status. To the few who have �enough� it will mean peace and happiness.
There are many of us who feel we can improve our emotional well-being with money, either by acquiring more of it or spending it lavishly. Certainly, when you don't have enough money to provide for your basic needs--food, shelter, clothing, medical care--money is crucial to your sense of well-being. But once you're above the poverty level, money loses its ability to boost your happiness quotient. "You get happier at a diminishing rate," says Andrew Oswald, Ph.D., a professor of economics at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England. "The first $20,000 is a lot more valuable than the 12th."
Richard M. Ryan, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Rochester in New York, believes that money is not the way to pursue happiness because the link between the tangible (money) and intangible (happiness) is too weak. "Focus on maintaining and improving the relationships in your life instead," he says. "Research shows that if they are unfulfilled, you see big drops in happiness."
Ryan's research has shown that those who put a lot of value on external goals such as money, fame or status are less happy and well-adjusted. "You don't find anyone who doesn't want financial security or success on some level, but how strong a goal is that relative to other goals?" he asks. Even materialists will say that relationships, hobbies, increasing knowledge in unrelated field to business, are the most important things in their lives, but unlike nonmaterialists, they will put money as a close second. The time you put into pursuing financial wealth might take away time for the things that really could bring you joy.
Here are three healthy ways to take a new look at money. Once you've rethought a few of these financial facts, you may realize that there are other things--besides money--that bring happiness. You may even discover that you already have them.
1. Ask yourself "What is success?"
For some, the size of their bank account determines what they are worth as people. If they could just "make a certain amount of money," "buy a big house" or "live in a ritzy neighborhood," then they will have "made it."
"Materialistic people are insecure," Ryan says. "They get hooked because they have to convince others they're worthy by having cool jewelry or hot cars." The problem is, it's never enough. If you ask most people how much money they would need to be happy, they will name a figure that's about 20 percent higher than their current income, Ryan says. And if they get it? "They still think the next 20 percent will do it"
Let's say with your higher income you move into a nicer neighborhood or buy a bigger car. Will you feel successful then? Probably not, because you're now comparing your house and car not to the ones in your old neighborhood, but to those in your new, wealthier environment. "Human beings seem to have to look over their shoulders before they can decide how successful they really are," Oswald says. In other words, if you get richer and everyone else stays the same, you feel the benefit. But if everybody around you has more money too, the extra income has no effect. This may explain why a nation that grows wealthier does not necessarily have happier citizens. You can see this today in India, post Rajiv Gandhi. Whereas the income for standard jobs, say a call center employee is quite high, the highly paid call centre employee is unequipped to know the value of that money as even this first well paying job is not comensurate with his social background and family history. So he does not know what to do with it. He certainly will not know when to stop."Since the early '70s, real income in Western countries has doubled, but you see no improvement in happiness surveys," Oswald says.
If you find yourself getting caught in the rat race, ask yourself what you truly think it means to live a successful life, Ryan says. Is it a big bank account or having people love you? Imagine you're on your deathbed and what your regrets would be, and then live your life so that you won't have them. "No one ever says, 'I wish I'd made more money,' " he says. "It probably feels great to get into a Ford Mustang when when you are hardly 28 years of age. But if it cost you 18 working hours per day for a year to achieve it, was it worth it in what you gave up with your family and friends?" The answer depends on your age, which is of more importance to you, and how you hope to achieve your target.
2. Consider if money can buy what you really want
You may have had the occasional thought that you'd be more satisfied with your life if only you had a sports car or a foreign vacation. But would you really be content if you got these things? Yes, but only if the wish is one that you can realistically hope to fulfill.
A 2002 study from the University of Illinois published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that people were happy when they could expect to obtain the things they desired. For instance, a woman earning minimum wage who wants a portable stereo and can afford it will be more satisfied than a millionaire who wants to own a Caribbean island or private jet that's out of his price range. And if you don't hunger for material things at all, you will be more satisfied in life than someone whose desire for things never ends, no matter what your respective incomes are.
For people who place tremendous value on money and objects, life satisfaction may be elusive. "With material possessions, you can always want for something more," says the study's lead author, Emily Crawford Solberg, M.A., a graduate student in the psychology department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaigne, who researches the connection between money and happiness. "There's no finish line," she says.
If there's a big gap between what you want and what you can afford, self-assesment and realization could help you find more realistic goals so that you can be happier with your life, Solberg says.
3. Change the "value" of money
Putting money in its proper place will help you live a happier life. "Part of the modern American Dream is that money builds happiness, and we know that not to be true," says Manevitz. "If money and material things are very important to you, what you want to do is find out why."
For example, you may think you want a large house, but the desire behind it may really be about your need for security. You may feel you have to have a high-paying job, but behind that may actually be a need for approval. It's OK to have material and financial goals, but you should be enjoying yourself while you pursue them. "Make sure you're taking time out to have a balanced life," Manevitz says, 'because if you're becoming depressed or compulsive while seeking money, it's not worth it."
Your business may be doing well. It will and can run on it�s own steam and keep you, your workers and every one happy for the next 50 years. But you have the urge to go in for an expansion or buy up another factory or recruit more persons to source and expand your market. Whether it is right or wrong again depends on your thinking.

Written By : Ejji

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