Money can make you happy. There I said. I know you’re all thinking that cliche, “but Sara, money CAN’T make you happy, it’s not possible. We need love, and people, and relationships, and cookies, and M&M’s to make us happy”
And you’re right.
Sort of.
But hear me out. I would never prescribe that money can fill all those important voids in your life. I mean what does make a fulfilling, happy life anyway? I would argue, that friends/family/relationships are probably the root of happiness. Sprinkle in some self-esteem, values, career, and love, and well, you’ve got a recipe for true happiness.
But money does something that nothing else can. It gives us POWER.
Not like Superman power, although we’ve all met that guy that’s rich and thinks he’s some sort of superhero.
Money gives us the power to make change and choices. Let me say it again, and louder, cuz this is the good stuff.
MONEY= FREEDOM and CHOICES
Money has the power to impact our lives in a way that nothing else can. When you have the ability to make choices and have freedom, well you’ve got it all.
Tired of living in that small home, time to make a change. Tired of working, and need a vacation, here’s some freedom. Want to spend time giving to charity, or volunteering? Money can make that happen.
See money has the power to make us unconditional in our own life. What does that mean you ask? Well, how many of us have needs, wants, and desires, but there are conditions on them? I’d like a new car but can’t afford it. I’d like to send my child to an Ivy league school but can’t afford it. I’d like to spend more time with my kids, but I’ve got to work.
Whether we like it or not, most of our lives and choices, are dictated by money. Either a lack of it, a need for more of it, and spending time trying to find or earn it.
While money certainly isn’t going to hold your hand during an evening stroll or open a door for you at a restaurant, money does afford us the opportunity to make a change. Change that can become significant in our lives. Change that can lead us to happiness.
I’m definitely not saying that you can’t be happy if you don’t have money, plenty of people are. But wouldn’t life be so much more enjoyable, and less stressful, if we had more of it? Wouldn’t that time that we spend with our family, friends, and loved ones, be more enjoyable if the stress of bills, life, and responsibilities was lessened just a bit?
I certainly don’t want to sound crass or ambivalent about what really matters. It’s clear to me that connection and relationships are the cornerstones from which human existence is shaped. But why do we criminalize and make money a dirty thing? Why do we look at the “money-hungry”, and those that make lots of money as less feeling and connected to us. Certainly having money can buy us lots of fancy things, and experiences, but that’s really not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about something that’s so much bigger.
I realize that many might not agree with me, and it’s really a subjective question. I mean how much money do you really need, a little? A lot? That’s really up to you and your needs. I’m not an extravagant person, I do have certain specific goals that I want to acquire, and no living in a castle isn’t one of them! I am fairly modest. But I do know that having money gives peace of mind, and peace of mind, to me, leads to happiness. And isn’t that what we’re all after anyway?
Whatever your relationship with money is, it’s personal and I get that. And I agree that a simple life can be quite fulfilling. Sustaining meaningful relationships, having a connection and love is always going to be at the top of the list. But being able to have freedom, and freedom to make choices might be a close second.
