A question that has been haunting me for quite some time now is: “Should one be content with what he has right now?” simple as it may seem, this question has been at the back of my mind for a very long time and I have not been able to find a satisfactory answer for myself.
If an individual decides he is happy with his existing condition, wouldn’t it be that he or she is being complacent and lazy? Why isn’t he or she trying out better prospects in terms of a good job with a better salary than the current one, so that he can afford all those luxuries that ‘were not meant for him’? Isn’t it that he is under utilizing his potential when he has the capacity to do much more than what he is doing currently? But then, how far should one go in terms of want for material things? Supporters of this way of thinking argue that mental peace is also equally important in life, and one needs a boundary somewhere between work and life; work-life balance in other words.
On the other hand; say someone thinks he is not happy with the existing situation, and needs to do more in order to utilize his full potential and bring home more money. Nothing wrong in that! Going by Kiyosaki’s philosophy, one should not say that “I cannot afford that”; instead, one should find ways as to “how he or she can afford that”! But then, how far must one stretch himself? This would cause him to think constantly about his goals, strategies to achieve those and his performance in the daily game of life. How ambitious must one be while setting goals for himself? Would he be able to handle the stress and dejection he would suffer if his goals are not realized? I personally feel that there is a very thin line between being ambitious in terms of money and being greedy. There is every possibility that this ambition might turn itself over to greed, and there is no saying as to where this vice can take you!
All said and done, unfortunately (or fortunately?), our society today judges the individual in terms of the money he earns, the title or the designation he holds in his company and his material possessions like his house or clothes or jewelry! What should the common man like me and you go after: mental peace or the metal piece? The question continues to haunt me…
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5 comments:
Good one. The last sentence is too much!!..mental peace/metal piece...
Btw I like your template...a cool blue!
What follows is my point of view...
I believe that you can never really 'decide' to be content. Contentment is a state of mind, when you don't really want anything more. One cannot decide to be content. It just means that he/she is suppressing her desires. If the question comes up in your mind, whether you should be content or strive for more, that means you are acknowledging the possibility that you can achieve more. And if you don't take any steps towards making that possibility (however faint it might be) into a reality, regret will always creep up into your mind... "Maybe I should have tried..." will linger in your mind.
So in effect, your contentment is gone! (You cannot be content and regret at the same time).So I believe contentment just happens and cannot be willed.
Coming to the greed part, what exactly is greed? It's a problem when you over-value the value of money - if you start thinking that money is everything in life. Money is useful only to an extent and if one understands that then he won't sacrifice his family life etc for money. The thin line you mentioned between ambition and greed is 'dharma'. When the end justifies the means, ambition becomes greed. As long as one's intellect (viveka is the right word) is not clouded and one can decide between right and wrong, ambition is healthy.
Handling failure is actually what one needs to learn. When you make an attempt at anything, there will always be a chance for failure. With failure, dejection will come. You cannot change what has happened, but you can definitely decide how you are going to react to it. Taking failures in the stride, if one can continue learning from them and make renewed attempts, then success is guaranteed to that person.
Lastly, how society judges an individual is immaterial. What matters the most, is how you stand in your own eyes. If you fall in your own eyes, you have lost it all and it doesn't matter how highly society regards you.
And finally :)... that was a great post... Do keep writing!
wow...
what a conversation !
it was an amazing post - that too, your first one..
can't wait to see the next ones..
when are they coming..??
hey...
you better add some new posts or I'm gonna remove your link from my blog...
When you are young you obviously have to aim for the metal piece. As you grow older you should gradually shift to the mental peace.
All the while you should keep in mind that the mental peace matters the most finally.
As the famous saying goes "God provides enough for everyone's need not everyone's greed." :)
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