Deception of earning a living
I have always wondered why people run behind money. People think getting more money means they will be more successful, will be able to go on one month long foreign trips with loved ones, wake up late in their beautiful houses and enjoy a cup of cappuccino, designate time to reading books sitting on a couch in their ultra big rooms. They think they will have a social standing in the society and they will be looked upon in the society as very successful people. But is it really so?
Let’s look at two examples.
1) My friend got promoted last year to a managerial position and I’m very happy for him but to think that he works 7 days a week and has to manage people all the time 24*7. Think about his office projects even during his personal time off. He goes to office in the morning and comes back late in the night as most times the work is not finished. He now has a reputation that he needs to take care off and maintain all the time. He sleeps all day on Sundays or holidays as he is exhausted with the office work. He doesn’t have time to spend with family. Doesn’t even have time for exercise or fitness. He now has a big house but rarely spends time in it. He gets paid handsomely but doesn’t have time to spend it. Goes on a luxurious vacation once a year and that too is postponed most of the times due to his high profile meetings. He takes on so much mental stress that he now looks like a 45 year old when he is only 32. Most people look upto him as a very successful man and take him as a role model. He has a social standing in the society. These type of jobs are generally called dream jobs by people in their early twenties.
2) Another friend is of the same age and in a different industry. He too is a responsible man. But has put in certain restrictions on his work. He refuses to work for more than 5 days a week. He works for 9 hours a day and wants to leave by 6 pm everyday. However important the meeting is, it can wait for a day according to him. Due to these self imposed restrictions he doesn’t get promoted for years. Is paid much lesser than what one is capable off but just enough to meet his ends and save a little for the future. However on the other hand, he comes back home by 6.30 pm and makes sure he spends most of the evening with his loved ones. He also spends some time exercising or playing a sport with friends. He looks 26 years old while he too is 32 years old. Most of the people look down on him as an unsuccessful and a demotivated man. No one wants to follow him much less take him as a role model.
Time for some soul searching, what would you choose? Life of the first person or the second?
Authors thoughts:
In the money making world, your mind is occupied all the time with structured thoughts mostly about work. The mind rarely gets time to wander (and one thought most creative people are ones whose minds wander into the depths of timelessness). Whatever free time one has, in that time the mind is filled with FEAR. The fear of failure, the fear of being a laughing stock in the society and the fear of what if scenarios. In such situations you as a person get lost somewhere, you stop to think. All your initial euphoria and happiness of making money gets lost to stress. To relive stress the mind looks for quick comforts in things like smoking, drinking or even drugs. Whatever makes you high in a small span of time. In simple terms it makes you an addict. At this point I remember a quote “ A cigarette takes away 5 minutes of your lifetime while work takes away 12 hours at day” don’t remember who said it but quite apt and eye opening. Either ways you die as you are not “Living”.
The truth:
Almost all kids want to make a good amount of money when they grow up. Let’s accept it, we all wanted to be young and rich. But along with being rich most of us have also wanted to have huge houses and most importantly decent amount of TIME to spend with our family. The harsh truth is that as we grow old and climb the corporate ladder the TIME that we get to spend with our loved ones or with ourselves, starts to reduce. It is most times directly proportional with the designation bestowed on us. Higher the designation lesser the time to spend on activities other than work. So as kids when we dreamt of all the riches we didn’t know we won’t get the TIME to enjoy the riches. One always wants money to enjoy with loved ones but almost never gets the time to do that.
Tried and tested Conclusion:
We are here for a small time span why waste so much time and energy on something which we won’t be taking to heaven (read money making).
Instead use the time to make memories which will stay with you lifelong and will be last thing you remember when on death bed. “Be high on life not high on money”
Note: Money is not the source of all evil. It’s the process of making money that is most times the culprit. Steals our time, energy and our health.
