Reporter: Did you make a lot of money out of your music?
Bob: How much is a lot of money to you?
Reporter: Have you made... millions of dollars?
Bob: No
Reporter: Are you a rich man?
Bob: When you say rich what do you mean?
Reporter: Do you have a lot of possession? Money in the bank?
Bob: Possessions make you rich? I don't have that type of richness, my richness is life, forever.
WHAT'S THE RICHNESS YOU'RE CRAVING?
Timothy Ferriss explains why "money alone is not the solution" in his book The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich. Anyone knows that richness doesn't imply happiness. I feel the other way around still works, though. Happiness implies richness. While being rich makes you happy only money-wise, happiness makes you rich in many ways.
If you're happy, you're rich in hobbies, quality of relations, balance in your life, in goals to set; rich in the broadest meaning ever.
Now, the one million dollar question is how to learn to become happy.
For me (and it works), the key is focusing on the actual path instead of the final goal.
I experienced this myself about three years ago. After another injury during a weight-lifting session, I lacked motivation and dedication (two brilliant attributes that pushed me to go to the gym at least four times a week for the last 15 years). I could feel there was something sick in my thinking. I didn't like going to the gym, and I didn't train for fun. I was obsessed with the body I wanted, and the idea of stopping training made me feel terrible.
I decided to change my priorities and put the "being in shape" goal in the background.
No personal scales, no mirrors, no photos, nothing. I decided to enjoy the process, and it worked. Actually, I never had to stop again (🤞🏻), and I'm in decent shape.
Mark Manson (in The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life) confirms all this. Having as a goal buying a 500k house will never make you happy. The reason is simple. Once you achieve the goal, you will set another higher target to chase. If you're trying to lose weight, try to enjoy your every-morning granola bar; If you're trying to write a paper, enjoy all the articles you will read and the knowledge you will acquire.
My current goal is to build a more healthy and balanced life, but I feel good every time I find time to meditate, read a book for 10' or go to the gym since this allows me to obscure the relative box in my journal (and it's very satisfying!).
And you? Do you have a goal? And a strategy to enjoy the process?