How To Reduce Money Related Stress
The best things in life aren’t things. This is Joshua Becker’s mantra. He is a strong advocate for living a minimalist life.
Many of his blog posts reiterate the notion that nobody’s goal in life is to own a lot of stuff, and yet the majority of us live as though it is.
We want jobs that pay a lot of money, yet we save very little. We want to buy bigger houses; better cars.
But, Becker says, these things are not really what we want most out of life.
Rather, we seek significance and want to make a difference; contribute to society.
When we think about life in this way, shouldn’t it change the way we think about money?
According to Becker, money-related stress is about more than just a shortage of dollars. The stress instead emanates from the way that we think about and interact with money. Therefore, the way to reduce money-related stress lies in changing these ways.
Some thoughts that have helped Becker do this include:
- You need less than you think
- Money won’t bring you happiness
- Money is not the ultimate goal of your work
- With wealth comes new/different problems
- The desire for riches robs us of life
- There is no joy in living beyond your means – only stress
- There is joy in generosity
- The security found in money and possessions does not last
- Money is fundamentally just a tool to expedite trade.
If you’re struggling with financial related stress, check out Becker’s full post here to begin changing the way you think about money.