What Does Wealth Mean To You?

Posted on Dinar Recaps Archives on 8/4/2019

What Does Wealth Mean To You?Post From Money Saved Is Money Earned

As a member of the personal finance blogger community, I’ve been privy to a multitude of differing opinions about a myriad of finance topics.

While most agree with a few broad topics (financial independence is good, for example) you’ll find that there’s a great deal of variance even among those who are financially savvy.

Go beyond personal finance communities and the variance grows even more.

Why is there such a difference?

What Does Wealth Mean To You?

When it comes down to it, I think a lot of this variance is simply a product of the differences in how people value wealth and success.

Although wealth and success are not traditional synonyms, in this case I think they should be because how you define success is also tied to what you consider wealth.

After all, one definition of wealth is an abundance of a resource. That resource could be many different things depending on what you value and what you consider successful.

Let’s delve more into what wealth means to you, why it matters, and how you can use your definitions of wealth and success to live a more fulfilled life.

What Do You Value?

How do you value wealth and success?

The reason for the variance in opinions and decisions in regard to personal finance is because everyone is different when it comes to what they value.

Yes, lack of financial education can lead you down some dark paths and you should try to avoid the debt trap while in pursuit of what you value, but ultimately a large part of our decisions will be driven by what we value.

So, what is it that you value? How do you measure success? What makes you wealthy?

There are a plethora of things you could mention, but most can be summed up in this list:

Income/moneySavings/investmentsTimeFamily/friendsWorkTitlesRecognitionThings/possessionsHealthExperiences

This list is by no means exhaustive or exclusive, and there will likely be quite a bit of overlap between some of these categories.

No matter which of the above items is most important to you, what you value and how you define wealth and success is largely dependent on your background and experiences.

Ask someone if being a millionaire would make them successful and many (perhaps most) would agree. However, ask someone from a different background if being a millionaire would make them successful and they might claim you need a lot more.

As with anything, it’s the differences in background and experience that shape your attitude and understanding of money, wealth, and success.

This is why everyone is a little different when it comes to personal finance and what matters to them. ​

Why Does It Matter?

You may be thinking that the idea of people defining wealth and success differently is an obvious concept.

So why does this matter? Why do you need to understand what wealth and success mean to you?

It matters because your happiness will ultimately be tied to your definition of success and wealth, regardless of what others think or how they behave.

And it isn’t always easy to determine what means the most to you.

Many people go through life with very little insight into their behavior and the motives behind it. They are unable, or unwilling, to take a look in the mirror and to understand why they act the way they do.

​Aside from knowing what you value and why, understanding your behavior and the factors that shape it are really the only way to truly change that behavior if so desired.

Essentially, what we’re talking about is a concept called metacognition, or thinking about your thinking.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.moneysavedmoneyearned.com/what-does-wealth-mean-to-you/