Do riches make one happy or miserable?
An Austrian millionaire is giving away £3 million after coming to the conclusion that his riches simply make him unhappy. He’s giving it all up for a much simpler life.
This is a story to really think about. So many of us seek more money and things our entire life, equating happiness to obtaining more of it. Are we missing something about happiness?
I think the important thing to realize is that most everything in life comes down to our beliefs, attitudes, and thoughts, this is no different. Perhaps if he had more control over his own beliefs and thoughts, he could find happiness without forcibly removing the thing he is too obsessed about. I enjoy money and things but I”m generally pretty happy with what I already have, I think that’s the key.
It’s illuminating that he would say future money ”prevents happiness to come”, as it demonstrates his mental link between happiness and money. Take a situation where someone has a problem with loving to eat rich foods, and they are overweight. Do you correct the problem by removing the food, or by changing the obsession with rich foods? Do you remove an obsession with gambling by getting rid of the places to gamble? Hardly, you have to change your own beliefs, attitudes, and thoughts.
I don’t fault Mr Rabeder for his decision, it take a lot of courage and represents an important step in recognizing the source of his unhappiness, however I hope he can find something to fill the gap which isn’t just as false. What’s positive about what he’s doing is that sometimes a drastic change is what it takes to jolt one out of their rut, and get a fresh start at all levels (physically, mentally, emotionally).
Bottom line, if you’re obsessed about something you think brings you happiness, but doesn’t, rather than try to eliminate the thing you’re seeking, find the internal beliefs that need to be change. For example, if you discover you have a belief that “I’ll be happy when I get a new car”, then you need to re-define that belief to something like “I’m fortunate to have a car”. This doesn’t mean you don’t create a goal to have a new car, but simply means you’re redefining your attitude about your NOW.
I am not in any way being critical of people who have made (and continue to make) a financial fortune or achieved great success in the professional world. In fact, I respect them, their ability and their achievements very much. And of course for us “non-billionaires”, setting financial goals, growing a career and building wealth (in the traditional sense) is an intelligent and practical thing to do considering the world in which we live and how that world “works”.
What I am saying is that if you and I lived in a collective mindset and culture that valued emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical wealth as highly as we do the sacred bank balance, we just might see a lot less dysfunction, a lot less stress and anxiety, a lot less unhappiness and a lot more “wealthy” people.
I don’t think this guy’s money made him unhappy. It’ll be other aspects of his life that caused his unhappiness. Money has the ability to create freedom – something that most people desire.
This guy probably isn’t in-tune with the purpose of his life yet. I think it is unfortunate that he has given away something that by itself, cannot cause unhappiness.
Still, this article does clearly state “MONEY DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY CREATE HAPPINESS” which is a great lesson for anyone to learn.
Much Love
Sam
Money is nothing but an inanimate object with no inate value. We assign value to it. The gentleman giving it away has assigned more pain than value to his money, so therefore, it is his opinion that is causing him the unhappiness, not the money itself. Very interesting story though, thanks for sharing!
Interesting topic and the old debate still rages. It’s tough to render a verdict on this guy’s motivations though since there must be a lot of details that were not included in this post. From my standpoint all I can say is that money is a tool. Like a shovel is a tool. The value we place on such things should only be assigned in the quantity relevant to what we can do with it. In a third world country for example a tool like a well-made shovel might be quite valuable to a farmer. Perhaps more than a plasma TV is to us here in America. Thanks for the great story!
Our philosophy at Peak Potentials Training is that no matter how much money one has, if you are not right with your “inner game” of wealth which includes happiness, freedom, and riches, then one cannot win the outer game of wealth- or at least keep it. People must focus on achieving balance in all area- mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional and this is what we teach at our courses.
I am not sure if I ever was rich, but I have made 6 figure salary once upon a time and now I make zero salary being home with kids. I personally do not think money makes person happy, sometimes having too much money can create a few problems with friends and family though.
We all need just basic necessity to survive life. Extra money may bring short term happiness, but not for long term.
Money itself does not create happiness, but having money allows you to do the things that you love and enjoy doing which in turn makes you happy!
In my opinion I think that the millionaire is just trading one set of problems for another and not really addressing the issue. In order to know how to get somewhere or achieve something you have to know where your are currently. If I where to council him I would begin by first by finding out what he is truly grateful for and what brings him joy in his current situation before making any changes to his finances or otherwise. Then I would find out what are the parts of each area of his life that he whats to change besides his finances. With this information I would know what his core values are and what are the true issues blocking him from his bliss. I’m sure if he does this he would find that it’s not the money that is the problem. This is a great lesson to learn, It’s never about your outside influences. The author said it best when they said “I think the important thing to realize is that most everything in life comes down to our beliefs, attitudes, and thoughts”. This also goes for someone who is fixated on being rich to solve there problems and be happy. The only way out is from within.
“Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent or greater success.” ~ Napoleon Hill
Ty Ramjohn
Infinite Minds
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This is a great post and and great questions to ask..
Do riches make one happy or miserable?
Keep up the great writing…
That’s the thing, he is obsessed with money which most likely secluded him from having a companion. And if he did have a companion then there was hardly any connection with her. He probably worked all his life to earn all that but at the end, after he made all that money, he didn’t have anyone to enjoy it with. I think his seclusion let him to give away all that.
great post makes you think, but I thing most people get confused and thhink that money is the answer to their problems may be!!
but no for all of them !!
good post
Richness gives freedom and the same freedom has lead to ‘pain’ to this gentleman. And he has discovered a way to solve his pain leading to content in his life.
Interesting story. Not sure how to feel. This man is giving up the majority of his wealth to live a simpler life. Bold decision, I must say.
Something this drastic requires a lot of thought. I do not scold him or honor him for giving his wealth away. But, he is in fact doing what he WANTS to do. That is the important part of this story. He is making a decision that makes HIM happier. That is great!
I can’t see myself giving away my wealth anytime soon, but, things may change and my mindset may be altered. Who knows. Time will tell. Interesting article!
I love this story. It so clearly illustrates that our thoughts are the determining factor of everything in our lives. How we FEEL about something is directly caused by what we THINK about it. If this man thinks that his money is causing him to feel unhappy, then so it is – he will be unhappy as long as he has money. His decision to give it away is the right decision for him, within the framework of his thought pattern. The profound issue is that happiness is never found upon the achievement of a goal; happiness is found in a decision to be happy in any given moment, and circumstance. Perhaps once he simplifies his life he will make the discovery that his ability to be happy has always been within his grasp…with, or without, money.