Do money and happiness belong together?

I can answer this with an emphatic yes! From my own situation money and happiness do belong together but I must make some very important provisos.

My own personal growth was augmented by the daily desire to increase my wealth situation and all the 'problems' or life situations that came along with that desire.

Another way of saying this is I got wealthy slowly and money and happiness increased. You must make that interesting journey yourself.

Have you got a particular view or story to tell? We would like to here from you!

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1. Look at our conditioned attitudes which reveal a much more complicated 'illusion.'

One example would be the conditioned work ethic.

This is programmed so deeply into the population that you will probably disagree with me initially, but please keep an open mind.

From a very early age we are taught that we must work, we must quite often occupy ourselves doing the most mundane and least desirable jobs so that we can increase our income(and the governments).

It must be seen that we are employed. If you think like this money and happiness will be illusive. This is wrong thinking. While I don't condone lazy people who rely on state handouts, I think that it is imperative to be creative and work out what your own life goals are.

What is your life's purpose?

For many, and I was one of them, it may take a long time to work out and no doubt fear will play a big part, however it is important that you're moving in the general direction.

Few of us ever do this but the ones that do tend to become wealthier and have more money and happiness in their lives.

Another attitude which has been deeply ingrained into our psyche is that of some how rolling over and accepting that we should be paying 50% plus in direct and indirect taxes, because, well it's the government and we are supposed to.

Well it's time to waken up and realise that there are legitimate ways of avoiding tax.

Don't confuse this with tax evasion which is illegal and will attract the wrath of your own non productive government. For that reason only, I do not suggest that you get involved in illegal tax evasion.

However by working towards your own life goals (and not your employers,your partners or your friends) you will probably eventually find yourself working for yourself with all the tax breaks that brings, closely followed by money and happiness.

2. Personal Growth.....

At what stage of personal growth are you at?

Are you systematically working towards your life goals?

What are they?

If you havn't looked to see what they are or keep putting off finding them you are doing yourself a terrible disservice.

To have money and happiness you must be working towards your life's purpose.

3. How has the money been generated eg crime, lottery, high paid job (for someone else). This is very important. If the money you have has been generated by crime you really need to sit down and look at where you are going.

'Happiness' will probably be confined to owning the latest supercar or massaging your already inflated ego.

If you have won your money and have suddenly become rich I only hope you have already walked a good distance along lifes road and have grown enough to enjoy your money and happiness. There are plenty examples of lottery winners losing all their money within 1-2 years because they have not developed a 'wealth consciousness'.

If you are earning a high salary (working for someone else) then it is very likely that you are probably spending more time at work, have more responsibilities, see your family less, have huge outgoings in line with your increased income and perhaps would be completely broke if you lost your job tomorrow. It is time to sit down and evaluate your own life goals and perhaps start working for yourself.

What about freedom?

I find this to be so important now that I realise why I was so unhappy for years. To waken up in the morning and not have to work, but want to work because you enjoy it has contributed the most to my happiness. It is quite common for me to be in my office for 7am! It is also quite common for me to have a day off or even a week or two because I felt like it.

We think we are all controlled by circumstance (having to earn money) but we are actually controlled by our own self limiting beliefs about what we can achieve.

The fear of what if this happens or that happens, if for example, I actually resign from my job tomorrow is always greater than the thing itself. Remember 99% of our fears never come to fruition and if they do there is always a solution!

Money helps us achieve our lifes' purpose however you must discover what that life purpose is first! You must have a target to aim at, for example do you want to be a millionaire, director of your own company, accomplished author etc. Later, money helps us get some of lifes' intangibles, freedom, happiness, security and also cars, houses, holiday villas etc.

Unfortunately because most people don't have any goals in life money becomes an extension of their conditioned attitudes.

For example: living for now, which is an excellent idea, but it is rubbished by purchasing the latest fad product, with the attitude, well you only live once.....

.....yes you only live once so be everything you can be and stop holding yourself back by previous conditioning and wrong thinking.

You can achieve anything you want, but first you have to believe you can.

Money and happiness belong together!