WHY DOES MONEY MATTER..!?


As I was having a conversation with a friend of mine, a question popped into my head when he said that he is not happy doing his current job and is doing it only for the sake of money.

Is money really that important? – was the question.

Immediately I asked him, “What would you like to do if money was no object. How would you enjoy spending your life?”

He quickly replied, “I wanted to be a school teacher.”

I was surprised because I never expected it from a friend who is a tech-savvy, spent almost a decade in the leading IT firm and who always seemed to be happy with his job. At that moment, he imagined his life as a teacher. Mere thinking of his life as a teacher brought a different kind of smile on his face, something that I had never seen before. It was a smile of content which vanished soon after he came back to reality.

Are we all doing the things that we don’t want to, just for the sake of money. Why does money matter so much? I scratched my head for a couple of days over this question. Then, I thought, maybe it is just me overthinking trying to be a philosopher and decided to let it go.

But, the itch continued. So, I decided to pass it on and asked a few of my friends, would they be doing the same job, if money was no object? If not, what else they would love to do?

To my shocking, not even a single person said that they would be doing their current job.

The itch now became more severe. Does money really matter so much so that we do things that we don’t want to? I mean, definitely, something more must be there underneath it, right!

I decided to take the help of my Assistant (Google), she categorized the results into two heads. One read – ‘Why does money matter?’ and the other was ‘Why it doesn’t?’

The more you read about one, it feels right. It manipulates your thoughts. But, when you read the other, it also feels right too. Now, the itch became unbearable. 

So, I sat down with my empty mind and decided to answer it myself. Why does money matter? Well, for basics, you can buy whatever you want, go wherever you wish, live however you can and whatnot. You can give back to society in terms of charity and help the needy. It would solve most of your problems. I mean, people always look at somebody richer than them and wish they could be richer too unless they are Jeff Bezos.

The idea that money can’t buy happiness has been disapproved by science, at least up to a point. Experts say that happiness does increase with wealth, but correlation peaks at a specific level of earning. However, most of us don’t realize the correlation peak of happiness and money in our lives. Anything earned beyond the peak is a mere waste of your valuable time.

Now, why money doesn’t matter?

Well, first of all, you won’t take a single rupee when you die. In the grand scheme of things, money is absolutely irrelevant. It’s who you are that matters the most.

Secondly, as cited above, you will never be able to follow your passion and never be satisfied with what you do. You also put your life in disorder by chasing money and when you finally have it, you will realize that it was worth nothing for which you lost your invaluable time.

Your family is what matters. Your relationships and friendships are the most important thing in life. If you have a loving and caring family & friends, believe me, you are rich. Without them you may be “successful” (by external standards) and miserable. Moreover, you will make the life of your loved ones miserable too. Remember, they don’t love you more because of the increased income. They will resent the time you spent at work and not with the family for earning more money.

Nothing is worse than being in your death bed, begging to give you one more chance to live your life all over once again but differently.

Finally, the title of this blog ‘why does money matter?’ Well, it really doesn’t. Not to me at least.

It’s never too late. Now is the time. Stop chasing the money and live your life the way you want.

Wish you a happy and peaceful life.

Comments

  1. Kantha M (Angadi)May 7, 2020 at 5:58 PM

    Hi Manoj....according to me if we have money then only we can have relations....otherwise it will only be for name sake...off course we won't carry anything while we die, not only money. So before we die if we have to enjoy our life we want money.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. manoj kodachwadMay 8, 2020 at 12:05 PM

      Hi Kanta, I beg differ on your views. Of course we need money to live in the modern society but our living should not be for money.

      You are saying that relations without money is namesake. I say, relationships without love is namesake. You cannot have a true relationship with a person with whom you have no love, just because he/she is a millionaire. What if he/she goes broke? Is that the end of relationship?

      I have seen people who are very happy and peaceful in their life with money required just for their living. We need less money than we think we need. The sooner we stop assuming that more money will make us happy tomorrow, the sooner we can find happiness today.

      Delete
  2. NobodyMay 7, 2020 at 11:29 PM

    Hmm.. in modern day relations, friendship and etc are depends only on the money which you possess or atleast your relatives/friends that they think you have. They will respect you but they respect that how much money you earn. Finally if we want to live our life in our own way one needs money.. There is a saying (which I'm only saying) there is only one substance which can turn an ordinary human into Superman is called money.. and there are many examples too.. atleast you know

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. manoj kodachwadMay 8, 2020 at 1:27 PM

      Hi Raj, relationship or friendship based on money are not true in nature. It is sad that some people respect others based on the money they have or earn. But, the question you have to ask yourself is that do you need respect from such people in life. I mean, they will stop respecting you the moment you loose your money, don't they?

      We need money to live our life in the society but, we need less than what we think we need. Also, if you see Maslow's hierarchy of human needs, the higher you go in the pyramid, the less effect money has on the need.

      Money can only get you extrinsic happiness like image and status which is short lived and it is never ending state of wanting more. On the other hand intrinsic happiness derived from loving relationship with family and friends and following your passion generates long lasting joy from within. It is a feeling that money simply cannot buy.

      No amount of money can turn an ordinary man into Superman. You know it too. Can you live with all the money in the world with no true love? If you can, then it's just that you haven't found true love yet. I hope you find it soon.

      Delete
  3. VishwajeetShingeMay 8, 2020 at 2:34 PM

    Hope this blog will help change peoples perspective of how they look at the person. Earning money is for better livelihood and happiness that comes along with it or state of being calm and enjoying life or surviving in this tough world. It has actually nothing got to do with respect. Respect should be for individuals personality not for money what he earns

    ReplyDelete
  4. nitish kumar ranjanMay 8, 2020 at 7:35 PM

    Dear..Money matters in day to day life to have "decent life." For that purpose we must have reasobale money to meet basic needs and social security .We can't say that money is simply irrelevant thing in life, but at the same time this "decent life" vary from person to person and definitely it doesn't implies "luxurious life"..
    ultimate purpose of life should be of "happy life" and decent life is precursor for it.Unfortunity our thoughts are overpowered by social standards rather than by our inner conscious.Swami vivekanand has once told that talk to yourself once in a day..If you are ready to define your decent life as a life of a monk, then it is your decision...So first you should decide yourself what is decent for you and first achieve it ,so that you can further pursue a happy life...
    All the best

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownMay 12, 2020 at 10:16 AM

    Good Manoj !
    Money is what money can buy !
    But in the pursuit of money, we often fail to live, live the moment , trample upon the lives of others .
    Money is all about resources . Money is the link betewwn the present and the future.
    Passion and livelihood . If one is able to pursue his passion , and find his livelihood out of such passion , ideal. Short of that, try to strike a balance.
    Keep writing.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Theory of Relativity

Image
Its been a long time since I posted my last blog. So many blogs in "Drafts" but I have been just lazy not to finish them. But every now then I see an inspiration around me that makes want to share it with you all.  It was a late evening in the scorching heat of Delhi in the month of May and I was sitting in the waiting room of Nizamuddin Railway Station waiting for arrival of my train back home. The waiting room was a mini India where people from all parts of the country where waiting to catch their train. Amidst the chaos in the waiting room, walks in a skinny old man in his late 70s carrying a bunch of baggage lock chains and repair tools in his hand with a backpack. His face was wrinkled and body was bent but there was no sign of tiredness on his face. The temperature on that day in Delhi was over 45 degree Celsius and still hadn't cooled down in the evening. Whole Delhi was exhausted from the heat including me, except this old man who had a charm of a young man on his
Read more

Wherever Life Plants You, Bloom With Grace

Image
A few days back I left my office at about 6 o'clock in the evening and I was heading towards the parking. On my way, I noticed a plant called Tacoma with beautiful yellow flowers. I immediately took out my phone and took the above picture. This plant with beautiful flowers was very pleasing to the eyes. This plant was not planted there on purpose. Yet somehow it managed to find enough soil, water, and nutrients to grow itself. What are the odds that it grows up in such a tiny gap between the concrete pavers and a brick wall?  This plant immediately seeded a thought in my mind.  We often complain in our lives about not being in a place we desire or not getting things we wish for. Some even grieve throughout their life failing to realize that the life they had could have been lived better had they focused on different things. You are feeling you are not where you want to be, you are supposed to be somewhere else. Say you could snap your finger and be wherever you wanted to be. I bet
Read more

THE CONSTANT URGE TO IMPRESS OTHERS

A friend of mine bought an expensive SUV last year. At the time, I had asked him whether it was really necessary for him to spend so much on a car that he wouldn’t use that often. For which he said that everybody would be so impressed by his expensive SUV. For a year or so, all his posts on social media were filled up the pictures of the car at different places.   A year later now, when   I asked him about his car, he said that the maintenance and running costs are very expensive and that he is regretting his decision of buying an SUV. It has become a liability in his life. He further said that he should have opted for a smaller car that would have been more suitable to his city lifestyle.   Similarly, another friend of mine bought a flat couple of years ago at an expensive location in Bangalore. Although not big enough for comfort, it was very expensive because of its locality. I had told him that he should buy a bigger home which was just a bit further from the newly bought f
Read more