Our Eternal Pursuit of More Wealth

Picking the wrong goals is like running on the hamster wheel. Once you achieve one goal, you set another and then another after that. No matter how many goals you achieve, you are back to square one as you set new ones. There is really no end game.

Money is the Best Example of This

Think back to the time when you were young and had nothing. You might have a goal like “I want to be a millionaire” or something like that. You run up that wheel but realize that no matter how hard you run, you seem to be stuck at the bottom. You look up and ponder about what could have been, but all that motivation just makes you run harder and harder.The more you drive for making more money, the less you live for yourself. You work those extra hours, only to sacrifice time with your family. You worry about your finances, only to create tension between you and your spouse. You nickel and dime every opportunity, only to find that you scarred so many relationships.

The older you grow, the more you realize that it’s not money that you seek. It’s the freedom, it’s the health and it’s the family that you really treasure. You learn that money is only the vehicle that helps you get to your goal but not the goal itself. Finally, you stop running because you realize that there’s no point when you already have what you need by resting at the bottom.

Some people realize this early, while others unfortunately much later. Eventually we all know - money is important but there really is much more to happiness than having money.

It’s never enough, as you’ve no doubt heard before. But in many different ways, it’s always enough.