Welcome to Wise & Wealthy: A weekly newsletter full of proven ideas to become smarter and wealthier. I send this every Monday.
#116 – March 18, 2024
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Wise: Having perfect mental health
Many people live under the assumption that they can somehow achieve a perfect state of mind, a constant state of happiness.
This is why we can’t get enough of self-help videos, seminars, conferences, books, and talks.
The Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung did groundbreaking work on the inner workings of our mind. He discovered that perfect mental health is an ideal that we never really reach.
In one of his notes, Jung wrote the following about the effects of therapy:
“The new attitude gained in the course of analysis tends sooner or later to become inadequate in one way or another, and necessarily so, because the flow of life again and again demands fresh adaptation. Adaptation is never achieved once and for all.…
This is the nature of life. Nothing is ever in a stable condition.
In my latest article, I talk about how you can deal with that fact of life, and how you can still (mostly) stay happy.
↳ Why You Will Never Have Perfect Mental Health
Wealthy: Enjoying life
With the constant pressure to travel, dine at trendy restaurants, drive a fancy car, and have the newest gadgets, it’s easy to feel like we need a lot of money to enjoy life truly.
Sure, enjoying life takes a bit of money since nothing is free. And even if you don’t plan to eat out a lot or are not into shopping, you still need to spend a certain amount to be comfortable.
To live an enjoyable life without spending much, focus on the activity you truly want to do on a daily basis. Our lives are not defined by big, epic moments. But the things we do every single day.
And on a day-to-day basis, it’s important only to desire a few simple things that give you pleasure. This also aligns with Stoic philosopher Epictetus’ definition of wealth:
“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”
Having few wants also makes life simple. Read more on this philosophy in my other new article.
↳ How to Enjoy Life With Less Money
One interesting thing
The Stoics often talked about the importance of being in control of your life by controlling what you desire. Epictetus said (this is from How to Die):
“Our master is anyone who has the power to implement or prevent the things that we want or don’t want.”
If you want to be your own master, never desire something that someone else controls.
Thanks for reading! I hope you found this edition of Wise & Wealthy useful.
All the best,
Darius
Join the 5-day Financial Freedom Challenge
I created a 5-day email course you can do alone or together with a group. It’s called the Financial Freedom Challenge. And it will help you to gain control over your finances.
Most people try to calculate their way out of poor finances. But money problems aren’t rational. They’re emotional. Manage your emotions well, and you’ll manage your finances better.
How to Unlock the Financial Freedom Challenge
You can join the challenge for free. For five days, you’ll receive a short email with a small challenge that inspires you to improve your relationship with money.
I highly recommend sharing it with your friends/family so you can go through the program together. It helps bring perspective. And it’s more fun that way too.
Join here for free: dariusforoux.com/financial-freedom