In a world that runs fast, where everything is just a click away and appearance seems to count more than substance, stopping to reflect on our relationship with money is a revolutionary act. We spend to feel better, to feel seen, to feel like we have "arrived".
But what happens if we reverse course? If we start choosing the long term instead of the immediate, and value instead of status?
This article is an invitation to do so to achieve your life goal.
At the heart of wealth. 50 timeless reflections on money and its meaning
An enlightening book on behavioral finance and the meaning of money
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The strength to postpone
Delayed gratification is the ability to forgo an immediate reward in order to gain something greater in the future. It is the basis of savings, of investments, of personal growth.
“Frugality includes all the other virtues.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
Postponing doesn't mean depriving yourself. It means choosing with awareness. It means building, instead of consuming.
Status is a trap
Many people think that money is used to prove something to others: automobile, clothes, viaggi. But often those who show off more are also those who have less.
Too many people spend money they didn't earn, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. – Will Smith
Freeing yourself from the race for status means rediscovering the value of "enough". You don't need to own everything, but knowing what really matters.
Freedom is choosing
Giving up instant gratification and stopping chasing status are acts of conscious rebellion. They are choices that bring us closer to a more authentic life, freer, more ours.
It's good to have money and the things money can buy, but it is also good, sometimes, check and make sure you have not lost the things that money can not buy. – George Horace Lorimer
Money is a tool, not an end. And like any tool, it can build or destroy, depending on how we use it. Choose to wait, choose not to show off, it means choosing freedom. Not the one you buy, but what you feel. The one that doesn't need to be shown, because it's already enough.
Alex Gaetani