Chasing after money
Chasing after money could be compared to chasing after a beautiful romance, it’s over there somewhere in a hopeful dreamy future. By definition, chasing is trying to seize something, you’re always in pursuit of it and typically, trying to catch up with something that’s outpacing you. Pretty much everyone has their own ideas on how ‘not to fail’ when it comes to working out our personal and financial needs but the utter weight of advice available is often overwhelming and tilted favourably towards the advice givers’ pockets. The big guys in town calling the shots.
There are heaps of suggestions on how to avoid all the pitfalls, you know, sticking with your plan, not falling into old habits of spending, focusing on your savings etc…..But a real sense of self-sufficiency also seems to be a proven path to financial health, thinking independently and not moving with the herd. Of course, if you are lucky, good family connections can also prove very valuable when setting out in life. Family upheavals on the other hand contribute to emotional strife and are therefore not highly recommended when planning any course of action for a successful financial future. Harmony breeds happiness and also engenders personal safety.
The Great Dream We Buy Into
These days we have an upwardly mobile and smart population with great ambition and ready to get to work so how come we have a growing middle class around the world treading water financially and feeling more out of step with their lives, ambitions and future dreams cut short. Yes, you may have a good salary and play by all the rules but why do they keep changing the damn goal posts? Changing the rules midstream is not a fair game. Many middle-class families earn more than their mom or dad did but still they feel poor. The Great Dream being sold to our middle class has become an unachievable nightmare and many are looking for a way out. The game has always been rigged and folks are finally waking up to it.
The first evidence of banking appeared around 310 BC during the rise of the Roman Empire, it appears the general idea was to share financial resources amongst the wealthy to further their own combined investment interests i.e get richer. It was a long time before the idea of charging anyone interest became came along. Of course, it worked brilliantly for those that got a leg in early. Interestingly, the ancient Romans understood that collective action was always more powerful than any individual’s needs, that’s why they thrived for so long until the day came when someone got too greedy and forgot about these basic principles that supported their very success: “fairness makes us all great”.
Up until now the banking system we’ve established has worked pretty well, short-term debt has helped us create a firm basis in life, to build value and good families. So far so good. But what’s happening now is our dreams are slowly being eroded by the prospect of long-term personal debt that will never go away. And, with wage growth stuck, inflation surging and greater income inequality the pressure is mounting for something to either change or crack wide open. The question: Are we being set up to fail?
Practitioners of mindfulness will question the role of how money can contribute to any lasting happiness. Mental anguish certainly surrounds the whole drive to acquire money and the last thing we need is any more negative side effects in our daily lives. But, if you have already spent a big chunk of your life chasing after money without reaching the success you expected then the question may be more about how you frame your beliefs of success rather than how you save more money. Our way of thinking is normally shaped by the society and community we live and grow up in so re-framing would suggest that you begin to notice the way you think about what wealth really is. Has it become a fixed mould that never changes, is this the only ideal you now strive for and, has it become the standard upon which you judge your life and the life of all others?
If you’re lucky enough to grow up and live in a strong western global economy and if you are beginning to feel that you’ve been left out of the loop, then you’re not alone. It’s not so far-fetched for us to expect more social upheaval as a result, more behavioural problems for teenagers, more suicide, more divorce, bankruptcies, depression and unhappiness. With the current formula of unfairness squarely in place and with the shift to greed and the winner take all mentality – the middle-class lives of millions of good solid people are not looking in very good shape. Real poverty will only be a couple of steps away.
“Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” Oprah Winfrey
The pressure is building to end special tax treatment for the already rich and to address the massive economic effects climate change is bringing with it. Whether you live in a democracy or not, this shitstorm is not going to leave you comfortably alone or protected. With decades of sneaky structural changes that make it harder for workers to pursue higher wages and get any breaks, an alternate model is seriously overdue. When these inevitable impacts start to become more disturbing it’s important to understand we are at a tipping point but this can also be positive when the general population start feeling the same thing at the same time you have the power to change. People will be forced to stand up for fairness if they don’t want to just keep failing over and over again.
Perhaps in the end it will be the global middle class that demands balance is restored to our world, our belief of what success really means will need redefining and re-framing to create less greed and a more minimalist lifestyle. Given time, a realistic solution can be found if we don’t want to end up like the Romans. The Covid pandemic has thrown up many roadblocks for capitalism, with supply chains broken, energy prices going crazy and the cost of feeding an average family skyrocketing we should expect nothing more than the masses to exert some serious political muscle from now on….Cross your fingers for some action because we’re just about running on empty…
