Looking at our peers

The human psyche is a weird and wonderful thing. It has the capabilities to adapt to situations, to adjust, called neuroplasticity. But when it comes to money, it has a very weird trait. It is never enough for our mind.

We are the only mammal that has the option to use our brain to be conscious, and compare ourselves to others. Other animals usual fight for their position in the herd, but we do it quite differently. We show of our "wealth", whether it is materialistic of in the form of power. We use it to compare ourselves with our peers, and hope we get out of the comparison as the "wealthiest" or the "most influential one". And money plays a major part into that. As it gives us material wealth, but also power. So it is very natural to us to look at our peers and try to acknowledge how wealthy they are, and look at what we have next to it.
One would think that when we have the same wealth or even more, we would be content, but that is not the case. At least not for long, after a little while, our twisted mind, will try to find other, wealthier peers to compare with. And again we will want to strive for that same wealth we are observing from them. And this cycle is perpetuated forever, unless you have overcome Elon Musk. It kind of stops there.

Investing in experiences is important

There is only one way to counteract this twisted corner of our brain. And that is to invest in experiences instead of material content. Experiences like travel, or activities, sports, hobbies,... gives us another feeling of satisfaction that is completely different than the material wealth driven side of our brain. We feel true satisfaction when we have done something new and exciting, and take that experience with us for the rest of our lives. It makes us "richer" by spending money. It sounds weird, but it is completely true.

Remember people, life is short, and wealth is important, but so is a rich mind!

Sincerely,

Pele23