I was reading an interesting article from Deepak Chopra the other day that has been with me for a few days now. It is not really what he said, it is the same sort of thing we often say and know to be true for our well being even if we aren't necessarily the best at following it, but it was the depth of damage he believed could occur. In the article he was basically advocating for the importance of well rounded wellness, the importance of social, mental, emotional, financial, and career wellness in order to have a healthy life. The difference is, he felt the whole world is heading for disaster if we do not start taking our wellness seriously. Not that you personally will have a bad go at things but the world as we know it could be heading for disaster if we don't balance our individual lives better. At first it sounds a little alarmist and exaggerated. Really? The whole world. But as I got thinking on it I found a sense in it.
How often does it feel like balancing our facets of wellness feels like an uphill battle? You know you need a career that fulfills you in a deeper way and has time for loved ones, yet often the jobs we are in demand all of our time, pressing our family lives to suffer. How many good relationships fail just because the spark burns out from lack of time with each other? We as humans are social animals and need physical touch and daily interaction with one another. It is an unnatural relic of the Industrial Revolution that we are still expected to pull 40 plus hours a week at jobs routinely that often need way less hours for the same levels of productivity. We know what we need yet often can not get past the first step because of the work culture, specifically in America.
When we do have our free time, we have foolishly given it away to social media, 24 hour news cycles, and other constant streams of entertainment. As a result our habits, desires, interests have been meticulously cataloged, stored and utilized to create highly addictive media that we consume at alarmingly greater rates each year. With each passing generation the amount of interdependence on technology grows. This in and of itself is not bad by any means, technology is to improve our lives, but the issue lies in how it is being used, often in ways to use us more, not make our lives more fulfilling. It often does not feel, as a consumer of these media, that I am being aided but instead it feels like I am being steered, and the feeling is uncomfortable. Yet these technologies are, at the end of the day, created by humans for humans, so why do we do this?
The answer is an unnatural balance in our wellness goals as a species. Our modern goals are not interested in balancing the wellnesses, we are interested in accumulating wealth full stop. What comes after this accumulation, who knows, the finish line keeps moving so we are in a constant race to get to the goal with no idea on what to do once we are there. In the meantime we lose the balance in our lives. Our physical health deteriorates from long hours, little sleep, poor eating, addictions and limited physical activity. Our mental health atrophies as we get limited interesting puzzles or stories. Our social lives and love lives turn into swipe right and likes but the wealth is growing so we should be happy now. But of course we are not. Any brief look at statistics and you will see our life expectancy has gone down over the past years despite humans living longer than ever, why? Because suicide rates are on the rise. We are unhappier than ever and it comes from this imbalance in our wellnesses, at least if Deepak Chopra's warning and my musings are correct.
We could have everything. There is so much possibility and hope for the future. Cleaner fuels and subsidized education, technology making our lives easier and better across the board, not just for a few upper percentages of people. But if we allow this imbalance to continue it will not be that way. We will be unevenly yoked, competing with machines for jobs while greed rules a top percent who keep hopelessly searching for that final fulfillment that can't come from an unbalanced life. The solution feels fleeting, but it is there. While we can not fix the world, or even our own jobs, we can move towards balance in our own lives. Financial freedom, meaning not just securing your investments, but assessing your goals in life and what you need to be happy, can set you free from the worrying cycle. With the freedom of a portfolio working for you, you can have the freedom to find the job that balances your wellness even if it is at a pay cut and start to find that balanced well being in your life. Prioritizing your wellness by making these decisions now can lead to a happier life which is ultimately the goal for everyone. It isn't an overnight fix, but it is something we should all consider carefully not just for our own happiness, but for the future of humanity. Any thoughts or questions? Reach out to us at info@bullionite.com.