Image: Money via Pictures of Money (Flickr)
Every one of us possesses a deeply ingrained desire to be wealthy. Where we differ is how we define wealth. For some people, wealth is the vast accumulation of material possessions, power and status. For others, being wealthy is to be endowed with good health, be surrounded by a loving family or to have peace of mind. However you define it, the one common characteristic of wealth is that it consists of possessing what we value.
Becoming wealthy in our hustle culture is often described as a long, restless process full of failures and late nights spent grinding away at complex tasks while you quaff your seventh Red Bull, until, with a little bit of luck, your blood, sweat and tears finally pay off. If it was easy, everyone would be wealthy, says the generic grindset influencer. If this formula for wealth causes you to feel dismayed about your own wealth prospects, you’re not alone. However, the acquisition of wealth does not need to be so arduous and protracted. There is a better path towards achieving enduring wealth: it’s in your head.
There are two ways to be happy: to get everything you want or to want everything you have. The ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus said, “Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” It is common wisdom at this point that getting a raise at work, a new coat or a new car yields only temporary, fleeting happiness. We quickly become accustomed to those procurements and our mind quickly wants more in order to feel good again. Instilling this understanding of wealth into our minds rests on two approaches: cultivating a sense of contentment and subduing the pursuit of desire. The moment you realize you have enough is the moment you become wealthy.
The pursuit of desire
“Desire is the root of all suffering,” taught the Buddha. Desire can lead to dissatisfaction when it cannot be fulfilled, and even when it is fulfilled, it is both ephemeral and illusory – sometimes what you think you desire is in fact not what you truly desire. However, desire is not necessarily a bad thing — rather it is the strong attachment to our desires: the inability to let go of our cravings and accept that we won’t always get what we want.
If you relentlessly chase the next desire, you will never be truly happy. The achievement of one desire shortly precipitates another desire. You never truly arrive at long-lasting satisfaction; you simply return to step one and repeat the whole cycle again. Desire makes a mockery out of us. Understanding that enduring happiness is not achieved by constantly gratifying our desires is one step towards liberating ourselves from its alluring snares.
The art of contentment
Accepting things as they are instead of how we wish they were is not equivalent to giving up or lacking ambition. In a culture that constantly beckons the idea that more is always better, the practice of contentment provides a different perspective that allows us to begin appreciating the richness of the present moment. Take a moment to reflect on what you have and how you would feel to be deprived of what you have.
“Comparison is the thief of joy,” is a quote often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt. Measuring our self-worth against others results in insecurity and poor mental health. Constantly trying to keep up with the Joneses is tiring and prevents us from determining our own unique life. There will always be someone else who is better than you at something. Accept this fact of life and appreciate your own value. When we shift our attention to the things we have — not the endless things we lack — we begin to embark on the journey of appreciating the abundance of our lives. Our worth is not determined by what others have, but by how we choose to see ourselves. There are billions of people around the world who wish they could switch places with you.
Conclusion
To escape the cycle of desire and accept what we have is not an endorsement of passivity and mediocrity. Here is what I am, in fact, promoting: wealth can be achieved by merely changing what you value, not by simply desiring and achieving more valuable things. After gratifying one desire, you will always quickly return to a baseline state of desiring more, and the cycle repeats itself over and over again. Cultivating an appreciation for what you have will always leave you feeling rich no matter how little you possess. Where your values are, therein lies your wealth.
Sameh Sharoud is a fourth-year psychology major with a minor in biology.