When googling wealth you’re greeted with two possible definitions.
The first…
An abundance of valuable possessions or money.
Secondly…
A plentiful supply of a desirable thing.
It’s a pretty vague definition, but then what one person classes as valuable, may not be seen in the same way as another individual.
So what does wealth mean to you?
Growing up we are told to work hard, to get a good job, to strive to be comfortable. However, that can quite easily lead to a daily commute that sees us getting up earlier and earlier, competing for the next promotion and the next pay rise. But what price do we pay for this?
Are you truly happy with your job? If you are, fantastic! If you aren’t, why? Is there something that you always wanted to do? Are you missing out of a past time that you love? Does your job or career not give you the satisfaction that you crave?
Wealth isn’t just about having lots of money or material possessions, it’s about having an abundance of the things that are important to you. So, if that’s money then great, but if it’s being able to spend time travelling, or spending time with your family or friends, you’re just as rich when you are able to do that.
To me, being able to do the things I love and spending time with my family is so important. Being able to create memories that will last a lifetime, to laugh and be silly, to watch my daughters thrive and to laugh with my husband.
My next question… If you were given the option of taking less money but able to spend more time with the ones you love, would you do it? If you were offered two jobs, one on a higher salary where you didn’t need to worry about money, but you’d need to be out all day and on call over the weekend. The second, on a lower salary, but you’d be able to spend time with your friends and family, which would you pick?
It’s a tough question, and there is no right answer. However, I think it’s an important question that we need to ask ourselves, or at least a variation of that question, to make sure that we are on the right path, and that we are living our best life.
No path will see us happy 100% of the time, no path will always be easy but we need to pick the right one for us. So in this post I’m not going to offer advice on how to achieve the wealth of your choice. Instead I’m going to end with a quote I saw earlier today…
“It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.”