Although money covers our basic needs and comforts (and that’s good, as it leaves time to live a life to your values and not rely on others), chasing money to the end of everything else, can drain your mental health and spirit. And sometimes turn nice people into people who aren’t so nice.
Chasing ‘the dream’ can lead to missing out life. You spend your life on long commutes to earn money to pay a huge mortgage on a property that’s too big and in the wrong place. Then your relationships suffer. You never come off the treadmill. Then you retire and just before you die, realise that it’s not been worth it at all.
If I had my life to live over, I’d relax, I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim rivers. Nadine Stair
Countries like Costa Rica have replaced GDP with The Happiness Index, which takes into account people’s quality of life, not just money. Until our government does the same, do it for yourself in daily life.
Think about:
- Your relationships
- Your environment
- Your home
- Your friendships
- Your job (
- Your free time
- Your spiritual home
Work-related stress sand depression now affects hundreds of thousands of workers each year. And many people have insomnia, racing thoughts, worry about debt and irritability, all due to the pursuit of money.
Proper health comes not from bank accounts, but from regular sleep, fresh organic food, natural movement (walking) and time in nature. Money can buy a good bed, but cannot switch off a frantic mind. And only you can build new habitats, and set kind boundaries with others, who put money before everything else.
How It Strains Relationships and Connections
When money is the reason, usually it ends in disaster. From marrying other people for money, to worries over over-spending, gambling and debt, the strongest relationships are based on honesty and love.
Find Joy in What Really Matters
A good life rests on purpose, people, and growth. None of these requires a huge salary. A retired nurse who volunteers at a community kitchen and says it keeps her spirit bright. A software engineer who coaches a girls’ football team on Saturdays and calls it the best hour of his week. A student who joins a local choir and discovers a new voice and new friends. A neighbour who volunteers to walk an elderly neighbour’s dog.
These choices build a rich inner life. You feel useful, connected, and alive. You remember that your worth is not your wage.
Set Goals That Nourish Your Soul
Good examples:
- Learn basic Spanish in 12 weeks, 15 minutes a day.
- Visit three coastal towns this spring, one each month.
- Read six novels this year, two from authors you have never tried.
- Train to run 5k by July, three runs a week.
Inspiration from a Moneyless man!
Mark Boyle is an Irish journalist who years ago, decided to give up money entirely for a year, and now lives in a little house that he bought with proceeds from a book he wrote: The Moneyless Manifesto. He does not suggest we all live without money, just inspire us to live with less. And realise that happiness comes from simpler living, not ‘more, more, more’.
Recently, Ben Fogle stayed with Mark for a week as part of his ‘New Lives in the Wild’ programme. Mark grows and buys food, and visits the pub to have a beer. But he has no mobile phone and no TV. When Ben told him that Harry and Meghan had left the Royal family and emigrated to the US, he not only had no idea – but only had a vague idea of who they were!
We think Mark is really inspiring, although he won’t be reading this post, because he has no Internet! But here are a few of his wise words:
If we grew our own food, we wouldn’t waste a third of it as we do today. If we made our own tables and chairs, we wouldn’t throw them out the moment we changed the interior decor. If we had to clean our own drinking water, we probably wouldn’t contaminate it.
The more we consume, the more we want. And the more we want, the more we have to work to pay for all these things and insure them. And then get stressed about them and protect them and get bigger houses. I think true freedom comes with letting go of them.
We’re convinced we need money to have friends and partners. But actually I’ve found the opposite to be true.
