How Much Money Do You Need to be Happy?

7 ways to live a blissful life

When I was in college, I had a burning desire to make money. I didn’t just want to survive. I wanted to be happy.

“Money could bring me freedom and happiness,” were my thoughts.

With my allowance, I could pay for rent, food, surprise gifts for friends, and everything else. Not that my parents refused to give me extra, but I knew the limits of my family. I could read my father’s indirect communication. A controlled lifestyle since childhood taught me not to fantasize about things we couldn’t afford.

Through my impressions of spending habits since childhood, I unconsciously controlled my expenses every time.

Even when I earned money, I bought the same things, the same brands, ate in the same restaurants and used similar utility stuff as they were in my home. I tried to furnish my apartment the way my father had furnished his. The things that used to be unaffordable were still unaffordable to me in my mind, and I didn’t think about going to fancy restaurants or buying expensive clothes.

However, the luxurious lifestyle I’d come to know through my work changed the way I perceived my lifestyle and reshaped my thoughts.

I visited different companies, stayed in 5-star hotels, ate multi-cuisine meals, and drank tea that cost ten times the normal price. The waiters were always there. There was always a cab waiting outside to visit the company. They always booked a flight with a meal. The only thing the company needed was performance.

They offered so much food, but I wouldn’t eat it.

If I’d that kind of money, I wouldn’t spend it this way, but it gave me a new perspective.

Before, I’d only read about such things in novels. But reading about a rich lifestyle and experiencing the same thing in real life is quite different.

With that experience, I tried to use better things, experimented with different products and subscriptions. I found the best combination of products, subscriptions, and my expenses. As my experience and salary increased, my body needed more comfort. My wife and I longed for a better-furnished house with antiques, lighting, and a fancy car. I switched brands, increased subscriptions, some I used, others I ignored.

Wherever we went, we talked about branded clothing, subscriptions from grocery stores to salons, stores that gave us a good deal and the best product, the sandwich we got on the plane, the welcome drink at the expensive hotel, and Netflix series that took us two episodes to understand the plot.

We thought we’d a better life. We tried to create a sustainable, comfortable ecosystem around us. But even with such things, I’d have endless arguments with my wife. My mother would be unhappy now and then. I’d get angry if someone cheated me out of a few cents or if someone didn’t appreciate my sincere efforts.

When I look back, we had similar reasons for fights, anger, and frustration. Money didn’t change these emotions. It baffled me. Then, what actually I changed in my life with the money??

Writing and blogging helped me to clarify my thoughts. Through it, I heard my inner voice that no one, including me, had heard before. After I put my thoughts on paper, I noticed we were unhappy with or without money.

We see two extremes of wealthy people in society: some are extremely wealthy with money, others with kindness.

The latter give everything to others even if they don’t have enough for themselves.

We don’t need to be at either end. We want to find a balance between the two. A slight swing of the pendulum is fine. This balance is happiness. We’ve to find our balance in life. Just money alone doesn’t make us happy.

What Makes Us Happy?

Mostly we use the money to buy materialistic things that comfort our body But what do we do to comfort our souls? Now we come to the point. Comforting the soul makes us happy. Happiness is a feeling that we can not see. It’s an emotion. It’s simple: things you can’t see actually make you happy.

The following points help us create this feeling of happiness:

Give What You Can

Give to the people who need it. Be it money, education, or just a little conversation. Give it not just to help them, but to feel the happiness you give to others.

Make Wise Decisions and Turn Wrong Decisions into the Right Ones A decision that contributes to your personal and financial growth and fulfills your emotional growth is a wise decision.

Live a Healthy Life We underestimate health today. One that we put at risk without thinking. Yet it’s a building block for everything we do today or want to do in the future. Good health keeps our minds sane and helps us think consciously.

Maintain Healthy Relationships Our relationships define our entire lives. Without relationships, we don’t exist. We need a person-to-person connection to live a happy life. We should always strive to have healthy relationships with everyone.

Experience Exciting Moments How do you feel when you climb a mountain peak, win an exciting cricket match, or complete an important project where time is running out?

We love adrenaline rushes all the time and at every age of our lives. Engage often in such activities.

Do What You Love Finding time to do things you love makes you happy. It can be — feeding animals, gardening, journaling, or playing with kids. It keeps the stress of everyday life away and balances our minds.

Let Go of the Past We shouldn’t be happy or sad because of our past. The past stays in the past, it never comes to the present. We need to let go of our past and live in the present.

How Much Money Do We Need

Without a doubt, we need money, even to follow the points mentioned above.

We need it to have power over our body and soul. And to have power over others, we need a surplus of money.

The moment we’ve more money, we start to control other people’s lives. You should decide how much of that surplus you want to have. How much do you want to control other people’s lives? How much power do you want to have? Do you need it only to control your own body and that of your family, or do you also need it to control the lives of others? There’s no limit to the latter.

A lot of money can give you power, but not necessarily a lot of power can give you money.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be powerful, but do you really need that much control over the lives of others?

Think about it and decide how much money is enough for you.

Please check out this story by Marrisa W. She is sharing some of her favorite book-related articles from the previous week.

Check out my other stories as well.

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