I have noticed people thinking/talking about money all the times. The people are so much concerned about money that they count every single penny they have spent or going to spend. When I ask about this, their answer usually is that saving money is associated with the economical richness which is linked with their future happiness. This is fine however there are several catches which should be considered in parallel; for example, if one is saving money by:
1- compromising on health (eating less or eating bad quality food or not eating healthy diet to save money). Is this a good deal in the long run?
2- Not spending on his family's needs so depriving them from their rights. Is this a good idea?
3- Not giving gifts to his family members, consequently straining the family relationships which results in tense environment at home. Is this a good deal?
4- Not visiting friends and other family members so jeopardizing the social life. Is this a good way of living?
5- Not paying taxes to government so committing crime which is punishable in this world and hereafter.
6- Not paying Zakat/charity so depriving the less fortunate to enjoy the life and polluting the whole income and join the gang who are not in good books of Lord.
While analyzing the scenario of association of money with Happiness, I had these questions in my mind. What is the real definition of richness? Is this only money which one should be craving about? Or there are other things which need to ponder as well? Can wealth make me happy? What is real wealth? While thinking about the answers I concluded that there are four things which can make me happy. 1) Good Family Relations 2) Good Official Life 3) Good economical status 4) Good social Life. While thinking about Wealth, I ended up with having these types of wealth:
1- Physical Wealth
This is a great blessing indeed. If my major body parts are functional, nothing like that. I already posses loads of wealth. Imagine a millionaire having a plastic leg or hand. What if Lord offers you to exchange a million dollars at the cost of your eye or Leg? Off course you would never go for that option. So you have to feel happy about being healthy as this is amazing blessing. I would highly recommend not saving money at the cost of my health. And If you do it today, you will do it reverse as well, that means, you will be spending the same money to recover your health but off course with all the side effects of bad health. The article written by Junaid (mjunaidtahir at gmail dot com – feel free to comment)
2- Family Wealth
Family wealth means having healthy family relationships may it be with mother or spouse or kids. This is something extremely important to which everyone should work considering the fact that a major percentage of our life is spent with the family members. Keeping your family happy does not involve a lot of money expense hence you can keep your family happy by small good deeds even. For example, eating ice cream at the end of the day with all family, taking family to a park on weekend, sharing jokes before going to bed and/or bringing small nice gifts can make big difference for making family bonds stronger and stronger whereby increasing Family Wealth.
3- Inner Wealth
This is something which controls your emotions, your behavior, your character and definitely your destiny. Being optimistic, problem solver and positive thinker will make you a super hero in true colors. These qualities can bring about superb results and would control your peace of mind ultimately. Always remember: No one is in-charge of your happiness, except you. So control your thoughts and have a healthy "Inner Wealth" bank account. The article written by Junaid (mjunaidtahir at gmail dot com – feel free to comment)
4- Career Wealth
A positive environment, a nice colleague at work, a genuine team leader and a mature department head are real blessings. But sometimes you won't get all these in one package as it is said that you can select your friend but cant select your Team Leader or Director. However you can learn to manage your office environment up to large extent, you can manage your time and work load. You can have a balanced work-home load. You can sharp your skills by reading/trainings etc. Career Wealth is something which cannot be ignored while striving for happiness. There is load of information on internet which you can read to improve your "Career Wealth". Google it.
5- Economical Wealth
I believe I don't need to write any specific thing in this category as everyone already working on it day to day. I must say that economical savings should never be done at the cost of your Physical Wealth or Family Wealth. Further, we should always put aside a small percentage of money (say 5%) for social causes (hospital, helping needy families, spending on less fortunate people and other charity causes). From a Muslim's perspective, every single penny you spend in Allah's way is being saved in your Akhira Bank Account and you are going to get the benefit up to so many time based on your intensions and offcourse this results in Baraka in your family !!!
6- Impact Wealth
This is something different from other categories. Do you have a wealthy mental approach so that you do something for society. Everyone lives for himself but do you live for others? Are you helping person? Are you taking part in any social causes? Helping others gives real peace of mind and happiness so in my opinion it is a type of wealth. So how much Impact Wealth do you own? The article written by Junaid (mjunaidtahir at gmail dot com – feel free to comment)
Conclusion: Life is all about love and peace. We have to have simple rules for living. Complications arise when we start taking life too seriously by thinking about our wants too much. We have to live more with our Needs than our Wants J
Article Ref: 0006-mjunaidtahir-paradigmwisdom-10Jan12- What is Real Wealth - How to acheive
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*M Junaid Tahir
http://paradigmwisdom.blogspot.com/
http://ae.linkedin.com/in/mjunaidtahir
https://groups.google.com/group/ParadigmWisdom
