I recently talked about how to live more independently, but there was a problem I could not solve for a long time: how to resolve the desire of ‘If only I had more money.’
However, I finally found a solution. Today, I will introduce it.
How to solve the problem of focusing only on money
Sometimes, we want to solve the obsession of ‘If only I had more money’ to live more independently. Social life, such as stressful jobs, human relationships we don’t want, noisy environments, busy days, or a lack of freedom, exhausts us. This makes us want to distance ourselves from society, migrate to a more peaceful and quiet place, and live more independently.
Social resources, including money or status, can solve many problems. It allows us to get many necessary things easily, such as a home, food, or energy. With them, we can realize our independence easily. That makes us want them, especially money.
However, we are not always good at making money. Even if we earn some money, we don’t know how much we need for independence. We always feel we don’t have enough money to feel secure. In addition, the more we concentrate on making money, the more stress we have.
The contradiction of wishing for money
These troubles tell us that there is a contradiction between making money and trying to be independent.
Independent life means a way of life that requires less money. However, we try to earn more money. Pursuing money for a way of life that doesn’t require money is contradictory.
This contradiction appears as stagnation. When we try to get money, we always feel it. We feel no progress, no matter how hard we work to build our own business. That makes us impatient, try to work more, feel stress, and lose motivation. A bad cycle of stagnation begins. You might know this feeling.
That is why we have to build a way to break through this problem. I was recently thinking about how to resolve this contradiction.
Then, I finally found a solution. By applying the concept of duality, we can resolve the problem of ‘If only I had more money.’ Today, I will introduce it.
The duality that clears sticking to money
When we head toward independence, we have to resolve the want of ‘If only I had more money.’ This is because independence is a way of life that is less dependent on social support, including relying on money. In other words, we need to take more of our focus off it.
To make it happen, we use the concept of duality. Duality is a way of thinking that we have at least two contradictory wants. We have to balance them to feel happiness.
For example, we can approach independence with the following two contradictory attitudes: using things we already have at hand and trying to get what we don’t have yet. They are opposite, but balancing them allows us to progress well.
The four approach
Then, let’s consider those two attitudes separately in the direction of independent and dependent ways of life, as follows:
- Toward independence
- An approach to using things we have at hand: We focus on basic tools necessary for survival and exclude unnecessary ones. We use imagination mainly. It allows us to imagine the future possibilities and prepare for the unexpected as well as possible. Minimalism is an example of this lifestyle.
- An approach to trying to get what we don’t have yet: We focus on things we can get at that place. We don’t need to keep things if we can get them on the spot. We use mainly logical sense to be creative. Being aware of this approach frees us from sticking to money. Creativity is an example of this lifestyle.
- Toward dependence on society
- An approach to using things we have at hand: We focus on using the relationships with society we already have. This allows us to live well by being dependent on society more. Sociality is an example of this lifestyle.
- An approach to trying to get what we don’t have yet: We focus on social resources. Making money and building our own business belong to this. Competition is the main style in this way.
If we understand the difference between these four approaches, we can solve the problem of wishing for more money for independence.
When we head toward independence, we balance basic tools we already have and things we can obtain on the spot. This reduces our focus on money.
Judging by the environmental potential
To make this easier to balance, let me introduce one concept. I call it environmental potential.
Environmental potential is the power of abundance. It shows what we can gain there.
For example, if it is near the sea, we might be able to catch fish. It means the place could be abundant in food. If it is in the forest, we might be able to get wood easily. It can be rich in energy. If it is near downtown, we can buy things with money. This means that it is affluent in social resources. They are the elements of environmental potential.
We can balance what we already have and the things the environment provides. This is the focus of living independently.
Multiple aspects of environmental potential
There are multiple aspects of environmental potential, such as food, energy, housing, security, entertainment, or social convenience. We combine them with what we already have.
If we set a primal goal for survival, the difficulty is significantly lowered.
We can focus on what the environment has. Of course, the higher the environmental potential, the more competitive the place is. However, there are places that the masses don’t want, but we fit in. In many cases, it will be a place with only fundamental things without any other conveniences.
This gives us the balance of our independence. We can take our focus off money. In addition, we can know how much money we need.
My case
In my case, I moved to the more countryside area two months ago.
My current environment suits me more than the previous place. I like the sea. There is fantastic entertainment: a life by the sea. Water is cheap. I can manage groceries in the long term and also buy food online.
This made me realize I could live in more inconvenient places. In other words, that allowed me to take my focus off money.
Conclusion
That is the solution to the problem of ‘If only I had more money.’
We can solve it by applying the concept of duality: balancing the potential of the environment and the things we already have.
Focusing on environmental potential would help as well.
This might allow us to proceed toward independence with less concern about money.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
