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1971

Abstract

as they have prioritised their family and sense of respect over making money. Being poor doesn’t automatically mean you get the rest of the pyramid. You could very well lack all 5 steps.life is much more than material possessions,but material possessions come first.<h2 id="6e3d">Better to be rich first, happiness will come later</h2>You can’t build a pyramid from the top down.We all need our basic needs met. The base of the pyramid should be fulfilled.When we reference rich, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are overflowing with money, but as humans, we have basic needs.Being poor has caused people to throw away the second level of the hierarchy — their security and health, in order to attain the very basic need of food and shelter.Money can buy us happiness because it allows us time and space to form and build connections, have a sense of self-respect and actually pursue our dreams with the aim of self-actualisation.If a person has money and is unhappy, it’s likely not because of the money, but because they are unable to pursue the higher parts of the pyramids, for whatever reason.You are much more likely to be unhappy poor than be unhappy rich. Are there unhappy rich people? Yes, but there are way more unhappy poor people.<h2 id="2d37">Rethink riches</h2>A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X14001880#:~:text=Findings%20indicate%20that%20wealth%2C%20increases,poor%20households%20being%20less%20happy.">study done on this very same concept on the Melanesian peopl</a>e of the Fiji island supports this. They found that ‘poor’ people were happy if they lived on communal land and had food security.Ding, ding ding. Why is that?Because they didn’t have to worry about their most basic needs and

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living together meant they automatically had the second and third hierarchy of needs met — security and a sense of connection and community.Compare that with someone living in New York City who has no land or fixed shelter. Worried about the rising cost of living making feeding and clothing difficult.Between the two sets of people, who is really rich?On another planet, where all your basic needs are met without having to exchange money for these things, we can squabble about if money makes one happy. But in a world where money equals survival, it’s foolish not to want survival over happiness.<h2 id="5933">Money is not the root of all evil, but the love of money is.</h2>Is this an article to extoll the rich and castigate the poor? No.But I want us to rethink our idea of money because a lot of people have been socialised to see money as evil. To see ambitious people as giving up their soul for money, or losing something trying to make money.I want us to rethink our idea of money and happiness. Money doesn’t equal happiness, but money gives us things that without them, would leave us feeling unstable and in lack.I am of the stance that we should never look down on people’s ambitions.There is a driving force behind trying to attain more.For most of us, we are just trying to claw our way up that pyramid. Going from barely affording food and shelter to affording security and healthcare, with the hope that we can maintain the higher levels of the pyramid once we have enough of the base to feel stable.If you enjoy my writing, you can get exclusive information on what I am up to next and what I am learning about in the world of writing by s<a href="https://mailchi.mp/305ef817b64f/grow-with-joy">ubscribing to my bi-monthly newsletter</a>. See you in the inbox.</article></body>

It’s Better to Be Rich & Unhappy, Than Happy & Poor

A controversial truth about living on Earth

Ever heard people say they would rather cry in the back of a Bentley than laugh in penury?

Did you think they were greedy and materialistic?

Did you consider their stance with disdain?

Well, let me explain the reasoning. It all goes back to a guy called Marslow and his phenomenal work telling us that life is much more than material possessions, but material possessions come first.

https://sketchplanations.com/maslows-hierarchy

Why would a rich person be unhappy?

Looking at the hierarchy of needs, just having money takes care of the first two steps.

People associate happiness with steps 3 and above of the pyramid — love and belonging, self-esteem and self-actualisation.

Now the assumption is that rich people have steps 1 and 2 comfortably, but struggle with connection, self-esteem or self-actualisation because they sacrificed those things in order to make money.

But that is a very false equivalence as many rich people have a loving community around them and actually feel like they have self-actualised, especially if they worked for their riches.

The other false equivalence then takes the reverse, where we assume poor people have a loving community about them as they have prioritised their family and sense of respect over making money. Being poor doesn’t automatically mean you get the rest of the pyramid. You could very well lack all 5 steps.

life is much more than material possessions,

but material possessions come first.

Better to be rich first, happiness will come later

You can’t build a pyramid from the top down.

We all need our basic needs met. The base of the pyramid should be fulfilled.

When we reference rich, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are overflowing with money, but as humans, we have basic needs.

Being poor has caused people to throw away the second level of the hierarchy — their security and health, in order to attain the very basic need of food and shelter.

Money can buy us happiness because it allows us time and space to form and build connections, have a sense of self-respect and actually pursue our dreams with the aim of self-actualisation.

If a person has money and is unhappy, it’s likely not because of the money, but because they are unable to pursue the higher parts of the pyramids, for whatever reason.

You are much more likely to be unhappy poor than be unhappy rich. Are there unhappy rich people? Yes, but there are way more unhappy poor people.

Rethink riches

A study done on this very same concept on the Melanesian people of the Fiji island supports this. They found that ‘poor’ people were happy if they lived on communal land and had food security.

Ding, ding ding. Why is that?

Because they didn’t have to worry about their most basic needs and living together meant they automatically had the second and third hierarchy of needs met — security and a sense of connection and community.

Compare that with someone living in New York City who has no land or fixed shelter. Worried about the rising cost of living making feeding and clothing difficult.

Between the two sets of people, who is really rich?

On another planet, where all your basic needs are met without having to exchange money for these things, we can squabble about if money makes one happy. But in a world where money equals survival, it’s foolish not to want survival over happiness.

Money is not the root of all evil, but the love of money is.

Is this an article to extoll the rich and castigate the poor? No.

But I want us to rethink our idea of money because a lot of people have been socialised to see money as evil. To see ambitious people as giving up their soul for money, or losing something trying to make money.

I want us to rethink our idea of money and happiness. Money doesn’t equal happiness, but money gives us things that without them, would leave us feeling unstable and in lack.

I am of the stance that we should never look down on people’s ambitions.

There is a driving force behind trying to attain more.

For most of us, we are just trying to claw our way up that pyramid. Going from barely affording food and shelter to affording security and healthcare, with the hope that we can maintain the higher levels of the pyramid once we have enough of the base to feel stable.

If you enjoy my writing, you can get exclusive information on what I am up to next and what I am learning about in the world of writing by subscribing to my bi-monthly newsletter. See you in the inbox.