Being Wealthy
What does it mean to be rich? Does it mean having a vast amount of money or owning a lot of property? Does being rich mean you can do whatever you want at any time? There is no conclusive answer to this question. People with no money can consider themselves well off and people with a large bank account can consider themselves to be in a bad situation. Money does not buy happiness and having money does not mean you are successful. Everyone dreams about being rich one day, but do we really know what that means?
Value
As a society we consider diamonds to be very valuable; however, do we consider what a diamond really is. A diamond is a rare stone that looks pretty and comes in many different classes and styles. Although they are rare and sought after it is important to remember that a diamond is just a fancy rock. Many people like them and desire them but what does a diamond give you besides a sense of class? Would you rather have a diamond or have more time to spend with your family? What is actually more valuable? Many of us spend too much time at work and miss family milestone events to earn money to buy what we need or want. The question we must ask ourselves is what is more valuable to us? Is spending more time with your children when they are you more important than owning a sports car. I hope it is not, but why do we spend so much time attempting to acquire monetary wealth. Sometimes our we add value to our lives by spending less money and less time working and spending more time with our loved ones. So ask yourself what do you value, a diamond or family memories? One has monetary value and the others value is more then we can ever acquire through work.
Priorities
It is important to pay rent or pay a mortgage. It is important to provide food for your family and to acquire quality health insurance to ensure they are taken care of. What is not important is the wellbeing of your small business, your large family business, or the success of the company you work for. No one gets up every morning wanting to fail. It is important that we do work hard to make money and that we do ensure we try our hardest to be successful in our careers. However, there comes a point where success is not worth it. Having to work 60+ hours a week to have the amount of money you think you need comes at a cost. The cost is living your life. You must prioritize time for yourself and time to spend with your friends and family. If you do not what are you really working for. Nothing can be so important at work that you miss your child’s first steps or really any important milestone in their lives. You cannot always be there to witness everything, thinking it is possible is a mistake. However, you can make sure you spend enough time to ensure you get your fair share of memories. Think of it this way, 20 years from now are you going to dwell on landing the big business deal. Odds are the answer is no. We consider our success by the success and wellbeing of our children. So make sure you remember to have your priorities straight. No amount of money can buy you quality family memories.
Vacation
We all dream of taking our entire family on adventurous vacations to incredible places far in the world. However a great vacation can also be one spent at home. Going to Europe will be a good time but an afternoon at the zoo with the entire family can be equally as memorable. So if you do work for a company and you do earn vacation time make sure to use it. You do not have to spend large amounts of money to take quality vacations either. If you are financially limited, live within your means. In regards to vacations this means do not spend a large amount of money. Instead take your time off of work and spend it with your family. You can have a great time by taking a vacation day and simply staying at home with the kids. This comes at very little cost but can lead to some of the best memories. If your child is excited to make a sports team take some time off of work to help them train and make sure you can go to the game to cheer them on. Most people think vacations have to be extravagant and that is simply not true. Yes, we all want to go somewhere warm and fancy but that does not equate to a quality vacation. Who you spend time with and the memories you make are by far the most important thing and they can come at no financial cost.
Being Happy
What makes your spouse or children happy? Do we all really know the answer to this question? Frankly we do not. We know how to make our family members happy sometimes but not all the time. Sometimes being the center of attention is what it takes and other times leaving them alone is the most important thing to do. Sometimes we might not have a clue on how to make the people around us happy. What is important is that we try and that we show we care. People will have bad days and sometimes just being there is all it take to ensure our loved ones are happy. Other times we might have to go to great lengths to get a smile out of someone we love. What is the most important thing is that we occasionally step back and ask ourselves are we happy? Are the people we love and live with happy? If the answer is no we must figure out why and address the issue. Everyone deserves to live a happy and enjoyable live and sometimes that involves change. Change can be easy or difficult based on what we need to address. At the end of every day spend a second and ask if you are happy? If the answer is yes then great; however, if the answer is no it is time to take a look in the mirror and make some changes in our lives.
Some of the poorest people in the world are actually the richest. In addition, some millionaires are actually the poorest people you ever meet. Start looking at wealth as personal happiness and not monetary success. If you do this you will start becoming a better person and you will start to feel better about yourself. You might be quite well off and have not even realized it yet.