Chasing paper - is it worth it?

I have a few questions for those that have significant amounts of money.

I come from a relatively financially poor family. I think that we could have been in a better position if there was a little more delayed gratification and economic understanding, but there wasn't. It was what it was.

Because of this, money or lack thereof, has played an enormous role in my life and continues to plague me in many different ways. It is probably the number one cause of stress throughout my experience, even though I have gone through over 20 years of chronic illness.

Still now, as I approach forty and spend much of my time working, money dilemmas still follow me as debt cycles and poor habits of the past are hard to shake. I am improving the situation but I must say, every step is a struggle and there is always another round of bills, needs and setbacks.

My question however isn't about how to change my financial situation. It is more personal.

Is it worth it?

This is more aimed at the self-made wealthy as there is no chance of me inheriting a fortune from anywhere. All of the hours of work or the 'go without' mentality, does it pay off in the end? I don't mean financially, I mean psychologically and emotionally.

Are you a better person for having the money?

I know that this is a hard one to answer as it is very subjective and everyone would like to believe that they are good, but, try to be objective if you can. It would help me a lot and there are too many people selling ideas that they do not actually support or say something is brilliant because they have purchased it themselves.

Is life better?

I understand that you may not worry about paying electricity bills but has the increase in lifestyle also increased the financial pressures at the same rate. Are you just in a better quality cage than me?

The next question is for those that were born into money.

How do you rate yourself and life?

Do you feel that life has been any easier or more enjoyable than those that come from an average background? I ask this as if there is a significant benefit to being born into wealth, I will work day and night until I drop dead in an attempt to provide it for my daughter.

I wonder what your motivations are and drives to work and build skills if there is not the financial need. I wonder if you pushed yourself as hard as you can when your back was not against a wall. It is very possible because of the space you have or had, you were free to push yourself very hard as there was a safety net to catch you. I don't know, this is why I have questions.

To sum up

The reason I ask all of this is from the outside, it seems that life would be much better but to reach that position is of course an opportunity cost situation such as time away from family, lack of sleep and foregoing small luxuries. But, there is definitely no guarantee that the hard work will pay off.

As a society, we hear a lot about the success stories but very little from the negative sides. We are driven to desire the same but I question if this is a control mechanism that keeps us working endlessly towards an experience that may not be so much better.

Yes, I understand that better things can be bought, better holidays, homes and fancier cars, but as a human, is the experience improved significantly?

I think that we have an opportunity at Steemit to rethink society a little and perhaps even direct its course towards a more equitable future where work and skill development that benefit the community will be rewarded. Perhaps we may even be able to improve the experiences of the community as a whole.

I didn't really know how to approach this, so I just freestyled it a bit. There are likely holes and questions missing and feel free to add in the comments your thoughts whether rich, poor or in between.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]