What Constitutes the Shady Side of Wealth?

When a majority of the world remains in a constant struggle to achieve the wealthier status, it is important to understand the mind-wealth connection deeply. Is there a limit to being wealthy or do people stop somewhere from further accumulation of money? Let’s start by knowing how money impacts the brain, which is also the reason why most individuals keep playing with their physical and mental health to only focus on working hard to earn.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Ego satisfaction: Firstly, ego is of several types, from serving oneself in a narcissistic manner to satisfying one’s need to be recognized as powerful. Wealth is one of the best ways that many people use to serve different types of ego. There are those who believe that rich rule this world and money can buy everything for them. Then, there are those who think that they can gain the control over others’ opinions and lives if they can achieve a wealthier status. This is because our society has been programmed in a way to worship the rich and believe that rich individuals are mostly the result of hard work. Using such mind programming, a few higher strata individuals also flaunt their ability to work hard to earn money, which is another type of ego that they are serving unconsciously. Although it is not harmful at the initial stages of wealth accumulation when it is done with the purpose of meeting basic needs of life, this behavior can go to dangerous levels when that ego about the ability to hard work starts reflecting in an individual’s deteriorating bodily, mental or soul health. This is a good reason to keep introspecting in order to keep a check on one’s deep attachment to monetary things and the level of richness one desires to achieve for internal satisfaction and life’s stability and security.

Power: It is true that money offers stability and security to everybody. However, it is also true that it centers the power in the middle of the palm of its owner. The good side of this power is that it delivers the required confidence and control over life to the owner, as they get more to spend towards living comfortably. The shady side, on the other hand, shows up at a stage when the person forgets where to stop or slow the process of accumulating wealth and start enjoying the real life for which they have earned or have been earning. Just a few people recognize this to stay grounded and balanced while hiding under the bundles of notes; the rest realize the importance of living life happily when their final breaths begin snatching their money power. Well, money can surely deliver power in a world of illusions, but it cannot buy healthy emotions, true love, peace, tranquility, or a set of new breaths for anybody!

Status and identity: Reaching the top is a dream for many, but do many understand the identity differences and social distances wealth creates? There are again two sides of the coin. It is great to build oneself up and rise to the peak of success positively. Money then becomes a part of the natural career progression process. Sharing such wealth with the loved ones and other people in need definitely carves a great identity for a high-status individual. The other side is much darker. When somebody rich has no concern with social welfare, the same wealth can make them arrogant through their status and unconcerned about the emotions and problems of the unprivileged. According to many studies, a higher socioeconomic class makes a large bunch of people feel special and worthy of what they have earned. Class privilege then defeats the teachings to the world that there are fair opportunities available to all. It oppresses lower-status individuals and demands them to work harder to gain their fair share of success, even without a concern for their survival conditions. Rich by default become the ignorant judges of poor in such cases, neglecting the differences between the skills and abilities at both ends. Still, this behavior is limited to a portion of wealthy population, and perceptions of higher strata individuals are also changing with times.

Addictions: Another shady side of wealth is its addictive nature. One earns and then earns more and then some more as their lifestyle alters along with this behavior. After the basic and luxury needs are met, one may move towards exploring more ways to spend their earnings. Alcohol, drugs, gaming, gambling, eating – these become causal activities. The individual may thus start moving up from the grounded reality and the roots from which they have risen. However, their brain chemistry may become so exhilarating that in no time, the coin may flip to the other side where anxiety and depression stay in the lack of grounding ability.

How to Avoid the Shady Side of Wealth?

While rising through the ladder of success, it is critical to keep a watch on one’s ego and hunger for power and control. It is also important to see whether you are managing your wealth right and serving the society you want to lead. Spending unnecessarily and unreasonably can waste the precious wealth you may have built through actual hard work. Avoid the waste and use it to heal others who do not have the opportunities available to be like you. Be sensitive to the emotions of those who are not bestowed with a rich destiny in this lifetime. Spend on some luxury but don’t go addictive and overboard. Nobody will ever reward you for owning 100 cars and 10 houses! Nobody can even help you to carry all that stuff to the metaphysical world…!

On the World Creativity and Innovation Day, Anybody Can Be Creative!

April 21 marked the World Creativity and Innovation Day. For those who could not have imagined that such a day exists, a suggestion is to start being more creative and celebrate the occasion on a positive note. While you may have a truly creative soul like mine, there are many individuals who feel that creativity is a waste of time. Some even criticize those who are creative in nature. A few days back, I created the following for all critics of creativity –

However, I also realized that the actual problem of such individuals is that they cannot think out of the box and get creative ideas. It is obvious for them to become a critic then. This does not mean that they are incapable of generating fresh ideas, but simply that creativity requires a good amount of positive mental energy to come into existence and they may not want to invest that energy. On the other hand, it is important for every individual to know that progress is not made through repeated actions but through innovative ones. If you expect fresh results through the same action every time, then it just stays your expectation. Thus, be real and embrace creativity if you want to excel in any field.

Creativity is not confined to sketching or painting. It spreads to every domain you can imagine. While a shoemaker needs to be creative to design a new type of shoe per emerging customer demands, a social worker also needs to be creative to awaken and convince people about a genuine cause. Being innovative will not only help your mental energies to grow and be active, but it will also benefit your overall health, build positivism and confidence, empower you at personal and professional levels, and offer inner joy. You will work out fresh solutions to problems that remain unsolved through traditional methods or the lack of it.

Here is a great quote that explains the importance of innovation and inspires you to be a creative person today and every day:

“Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” – Jalaluddin Rumi, The Essential Rumi

It is truly inspirational and motivational to listen to the way others have tackled issues and done something new in life. However, real inspiration and intrinsic motivation will only come from the achievements you make by being creative and carving your own path. Not everyone has the same journey of life. Take an oath to be creative each day and make your journey beautiful and inspirational for the world. Creativity is the best way to justify your existence and purpose in life.

(For those who want to gain some quick tips on being more creative, I have my next post coming in real quick. Keep a watch!)

Content That Makes You Sky-Dive Out of This World!

Walk on a road less traveled!

“It’s so easy to cry-dive into this world, but it’s so complex to sky-dive out of this world.”

This is one of my quotes that I had written in the context of an important aspect of human psychology. Can you guess my context before you go on reading further? Do give a thought!

Now, I am going to reveal what I meant by these words…see if it matches your thoughts.

Here, I am talking about an individual’s needs, especially the need for achievement! Does it make some sense now? I am sure it would be. If you are wondering that I am missing my other usually discussed aspect of content, then that is what I am coming to. We are going to see how need for achievement is related to content.

You might have been inspired by the biographies or autobiographies of several famous personalities. You might also have seen several people climbing up the ladder of success and achieving a lot through their lives within a long or short time period. There are innumerable written pieces and audiovisuals available on the lives and achievements of such individuals and organizations. In short, we have a wide range of content to inspire and direct our thoughts in interested directions.

Everyone, through their life, would have been motivated by one such epitome of success…or may be more. However, it is just not sufficient to be inspired by someone in order to achieve heights in your own lives. All of us make easy dives into this world, but why is it that only a few are able to sky-dive out of this world? And remember…skydiving is an activity that requires real courage…not everyone can make an attempt! Isn’t that true about our achievements too?

In a simple manner, we can call the need for achievement as a psychological want that is triggered by varied motivational factors. One of these factors is the content developed about real-life achievers and other inspirations. This content is used by our environment (including our teachers, parents and guides) to motivate us on a constant basis. Stimuli related to real achievements are strong enough to push any individual who also has an accompanied inner motivation to achieve something significant in their field of interest.

This also explains why everyone is not able to make great achievements even after trying. For example, a person may watch a video on an achiever who skydived from a record height. Although this person, interested in skydiving, would have received enough motivation from the video content, it might not be solely sufficient to make him/her dive from a similar height. Unless this person has intrinsic motivational factors working in favor, he/she would not be able to complement his/her extrinsic inspiration.

So, what is needed to sky-dive out of this world? Yes, it is your intense inner passion (high achievement motivation) plus external motivations (including inspirational content) that drive you to make a mark and carve a unique world of achievements for yourself. Use the synergy of your internal and external energies to walk on a road that is less traveled and you will be able to find a light to guide you toward the hilltop. Inspire yourself to become an inspiration for others! 🙂

So, find your path and start walking passionately…nobody will dare to block your road when you want to achieve it for yourself! I will soon be back to your minds with another piece of content. Keep achieving… 🙂