Increased income and material wealth have negative effects on our well-being if not channeled correctly.
In today’s world, the desire to earn more money is almost universally accepted as a sign of ambition and success. For many people it’s a huge source of motivation to work hard and has become embedded in our cultures, careers, and aspirations. However, beneath this motivational drive lies an important question: Why do we want to earn more?
I do not speak for everyone when I say this but, for many, the answer points to a desire to have more things. A bigger house, a newer car, the latest technology, nicer clothes, luxury experiences…the list goes on. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with enjoying the fruits of our labor, we do fall short when our motivation to earn is purely rooted in material accumulation.
The marketing wheel of the world says it’s more important to have the latest iPhone than it is of importance to purchase something like life insurance or to start your own investment plan. It pushes the idea that happiness lies just one material purchase away. This illusion is marketed to us relentlessly and the moment we obtain one desired item, the dopamine hit fades instantly and, before you know it, the desire for something else takes its place. It’s a moving target – the metaphorical hamster wheel even – ensuring we never quite reach contentment. That new phone? In a year, it’s outdated. That designer bag? It sits in the closet. The truth is, what we own starts owning us when our motivation to earn has no greater purpose.
Studies in psychology and behavioral science have shown that after a certain point, increased income and material wealth have negative effects on our well-being if not channeled correctly. If our desire to earn more is driven by the desire to have more material things, we don’t actually earn anything at all. We’re just unsatisfied consumers that wish to consume more. We may find ourselves working jobs we dislike, chasing promotions we don’t need, or compromising our health and peace of mind. All of it for the sake of acquiring more things that ultimately fail to fulfill us. Consumption without reflection breeds anxiety, insecurity, and restlessness.
This observation is not new, and often people know this to be true within themselves, but the fear of judgment or the need to be seen as something or someone of importance tends to overpower the reality of things and drive decisions in a negative way. Philosophers, spiritual leaders, social critics, as well as the same successful people we look up to have warned us about the emptiness of a material-focused life yet, somehow, we still…Anyways. It was never about what it looks like, it was always about what it is. A book’s cover design says nothing about the book. The are no number of ornaments you can put on a Christmas tree to help it last. It may look good, but the tree needs water or it will die with a bunch of meaningless ornaments on it before the season’s out, never having reached its full potential.
To escape this cycle, we need to reconsider the purpose of earning. What if the goal wasn’t to consume more, but to live better? Earning can be a powerful tool when aligned with purpose. For example:
- Freedom: Money can buy time to rest, explore, care for others, or simply exist without pressure. Financial independence, when used wisely, can free us from cycles of stress or toxic environments.
- Contribution: With more resources, we can support causes we care about, help others in need, or invest in communities and ideas that matter.
- Growth: Money can enable personal development, education, travel, creative projects, or new experiences that fulfill our lives.
- Creation: Instead of consuming, we can create businesses or even purchase financial products that appreciate in value.
When you’re only motivated by what you can acquire, you’re handing the steering wheel of your life to someone else. Whether it’s marketers, influencers, or your own sense of inadequacy, someone else is calling the shots. And you deserve better than that. When earning is motivated by purpose instead of possession, it’s far more intentional, and in the end, it also tends to be more fruitful. It’s about mastering our desires rather than being mastered by them.
The solution, in fact, is a clearer sense of enough. What does enough look like to you without the influence of societal expectations. Managing our definition of enough allows us to step off the marketing wheel of consumption and live with clarity, contentment, and true value. It enables us to earn with intention rather than compulsion.
In the end, real wealth isn’t just a number in a bank account or the contents of your closet. Real wealth is freedom, purpose, healthy relationships, empowering experiences, and last but not least, peace of mind. So, ask not just how much you wish to earn, but why. Because if the goal is only to have more, we may find that we end up with very little of what truly matters.
Now will always be the right time to take control!