How Do Your Expectations Play A Role In Your Happiness And What Can You Do About It?
Investment Retirement Funding InsightsEver notice how celebrities tend to not truly be happy? This has always been interesting to me. They get to do whatever they want, yet they are not happy.
I think a lot of us believe that having a lot of money sounds great because we can buy all the things we currently cannot have.
- Go golf any time we want
- Go on a lot of vacations
- Have the nicest clothes
- Attend parties every night
- Own the luxurious cars
- Have a house on the beach
These material things aren’t really what we want. We end up unhappy because of the gap between our expectations and our own reality.
Here is what I mean:
My first car was a teal geo storm. Yes…. teal! I loved it! My parents and wife still make fun of that car. I loved it and valued it so much because it represented freedom to me. I no longer had to rely upon my parents to take me places.
My second car was a Honda civic. It was a nice upgrade. Third was a Mitsubishi eclipse. Fourth was a Hyundai sonata and now I have a Volvo S60 with everything I could want. While I have enjoyed upgrading my car, it has not really increased the value. I have just spent a lot more money upgrading my cars. I used to think that it made me look better. It does not.
Every year I upgraded my expectations and kept asking myself “What’s Next?”
I completely forgot what life used to look like and my aspirations grew so easily because I was chasing fantasies.
What do we really want? Purpose.
Why are we getting up and grinding every day? What does it all get us?
I do not care about cars, yet I kept upgrading. It did not really bring me more happiness. However, I do love helping people with their finances. It brings me a lot of joy. And the lifestyle I can have from my work? That is the biggest value.
I get to help people and I get to:
- Attend all my kids' events
- Take plenty of trips and experiences with my family
- Work when I want
- Play when I want
This is what is important to me. I just had to take a step back and figure out what my expectations were and what I truly value.
You can do the same! Are you chasing expectations? What is it that you truly value?
If you can figure out how to want less rather than focusing on getting more…. I promise you will be happier for it!
