The Older I get…

The older I get, the more I realize how happiness and health are the most important aspects of life. We all know this, but sometimes we need to stop and think about what that means. Being happy and healthy truly beats any money or success in the world. Money cannot buy happiness, maybe temporarily, but not true happiness. It will not buy the kind of happiness that makes you wake up grateful to be alive and grateful for every little thing on this earth. Money will also not buy you health, it might assist you in living longer with the use of meds and other methods, but at the end, health is not something you can buy. Success is great to have, but at the end it will not matter if you spend all of your days in the office focusing on making money instead of spending time with family and living your life. Yes, we should all work and love what we do, but that should not be a priority. A rich man will not be buried any different than a poor man and we will all receive the same judgement.

As our human nature goes, we are always racing to get a bigger house, a nicer car, a better body, a larger paycheck, and endless success. But, where does it end? It doesn’t. We keep telling ourselves if we have this or that, we will be happy; once we have a house, we will be happy; once I get this job, I will be happy. But, will you? Happiness is not in the things you have or the your career or where you vacation. Happiness is within you, you just have to find it and nurture it. No matter what we get in life, we will always aim for more. Humans are insatiable by nature. I am not saying we shouldn’t be the best that we can be, but do it for the right reasons. Don’t do it for more money or fame or because of societal expectations. Do it because you want to help others, you want to serve your community, you want to create something that will change the world. The moment you rely on money and success to make you happy, that is the moment you get lost. Don’t get to that point. I know more happy poor people than rich people. Most rich people (and I mean really wealth individuals) I have encountered are not happy nor healthy in many cases. They have spend so much of their time chasing the money that they have neglected their families and stress got to their health. If you think being broke is stressful, I promise you being rich can be stressful too. More money more problems, as they say.

I think we should all work and have an income and maintain a healthy financial stability, but I just don’t think we should obsess over making money. There is a way to earn a decent salary and save money and even invest and live a great life. It is all about how you take care of the money you have. If you keep buying things with money you don’t have to impress people you don’t like, then you will never be stable. Aside from that, our main goal should be to be happy, not wait to be happy when something happens but to be happy today. Once you start being grateful for every little thing in your life, you will realize how blessed you are. You will realize that you already have everything you need. Happiness will also aid in your health, because you will not stress as much and you will make those around you happy as well. Happiness is contagious, so spend time with people who find happiness in every day.