The Death of the Monthly Salary
‘The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.’
This quote is doing the rounds on social media, and I couldn’t help but get intrigued by it. These words by Nassim Taleb, scholar, statistician, risk analyst and author of The Black Swan — considered one of the twelve most influential books since World War II by The Sunday Times — couldn’t be more accurate.
You only have to research a little about heroin and you’ll understand its harmful, almost lethal effects. Now about carbohydrates — for anyone going on a diet, and attempting to slowly reduce their intake, or take them off totally, you know what a daunting task it can be…
You’re constantly looking for substitutes, but they just don’t seem to do the trick…
Until one fine day, you commit ‘carbicide’, binging on all the carbs you can find.
And finally for the monthly salary — it can numb your mind, creativity, and several aspects of your life in one fell swoop. Getting addicted to this one is the easiest, and getting out of it can often take years…sometimes a whole lifetime before you do… Only to realize at the end, that your entire life was spent on a desk, working for someone else, and nothing much really changed.
