The grass is greener on the side laced with bullshit
-Morgan Housel
For this week, I am replacing the weekly Monday Market Update Newsletter with the Wednesday Money Mentality Blog Post. Next week, things will return to normal. Hope you enjoy this post.
This post is 807 words, a 4 min read.
There were certain things that I believed if I could achieve that life would be much sweeter and maybe easier:
A well-paying job
A house
A car
Money
An Audience
Good Health
etc.
The problem is there is always more. There is always another level:
Now I have the job but I want the promotion.
But even that is not enough, I also want to own my own business that creates substantial income on the side
I have the house but I need a bigger house
I have a car but I need a car with the awesome safety features
I have a bit of money but I need even more money for all the new goals that I now have because I know more
I have an audience (shout-out to you guys reading) but I want an even bigger audience to validate me
I am healthy but I want to look like a Greek god
So on and so on
There is always more. There is always something new to aspire towards. There is always another thing to yearn for.
Part of this is actually healthy and necessary for life. Growth and Stress are key to life otherwise we stagnate and begin to die off. However, as my mom told me too much water (which we need to survive) can hurt your stomach.
I would be a fool to believe that more things will give me the fulfillment that I seek. But yet, I willingly accept this lie.
But what other option do I have but to chase?
I am getting older and responsibilities that seemed far off are quickly becoming realities:
Aging Parents
Wedding
Marriage
Kids
Those hills on the horizon are quickly becoming mountains that must be crossed.
Each of these responsibilities has requirements.
Each requirement set the terms for the new goals.
So I chase:
I chase after promotions at work so I can make more and meet these new needs.
I chase after trying to build a business so I can make more and meet the goal.
I chase more because I want to achieve financial independence
I feel trapped because I know in my heart it will never be enough.
But I want to believe that things will be better after I reach my goals and if I just make more money. Or at the very least, it will be much easier.
But I also know that the other side may appear greener but it is laced with a different kind of manure.
And the question I need to ask myself is "Can I deal with the stench of that manure? Can I handle smelling like that manure?"
But I am choosing to ignore those questions and believe even if the manure stench is too much, I can hold my breath for long enough to make it to the goal I need.
But maybe there is an alternative. As Seneca the Stoic said, "It is not the man who has little, but he who desires more, that is poor."
or Socrates said, "He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature".
My word for the year 2023 is DAYENU which is a song that is part of the Hebrew celebration of Passover. It means it would have been enough. It is a song that speaks to being grateful for all of God's gifts.
An example of how the song would go is:
It would have been enough to have a house but I get to have couches, TVs, beds, laptops, a fridge, and clothes all in the house as well
It is for a way to celebrate and be content with what I do have rather than what I do not have.
So Dayenu to be alive but I get to have great health, a loving family, and loving friends.
Dayenu a house but I get to have a fridge full of food.
Dayenu a car but I get to have the Honda Accord Coupe I have always wanted.
Dayenu God but I get to call Him my Father and have a personal relationship.
These are my (very jumbled) thoughts as I enter the final year of my twenties.
Today, I am now 29 years old.
Some people may lament crossing the line and entering a brand new decade. I tend to see it as Andy Mineo said in his song 1988:
"What's ya other option?
You either in the grave or you get another year
So blow these candles out, we just happy that you here"
It is neither ecstatic excitement nor sadness.
It is more an embrace of reality.
So happy Birthday to me