Total financial independence may not lead to happiness
Summary
- financial independence may be convenient, but will lead to missing out on a good life due to social interactions
Details
- Depending on others for some things allows us to have social interactions that improve the quality of our lives
References
Quotes
Your authors have noticed a popular presumption hanging about, that being able to pay for whatever you need, so that you don’t have to rely on anybody else, is a Most Desirable State Of Affairs. But as with so many things, the dose makes the poison : a measure of financial independence is convenient, but make money the dominant mode by which you satisfy needs and wants, and you start missing out on a whole lotta living. You can also become quite a lonely grouch.
You are going camping for a few days in a remote spot. You’ve rented a car to get there, and are borrowing a friend’s Esky (an item also known as a ‘cooler’ or, rather charmingly, a ‘chilly bin’). You see little excuse for buying one of your own, since your camping trips mostly involve hiking and eating out of a backpack. When you bring the Esky back to its owner after the trip, he gets so inspired by your description of the stunning area that he decides to make a journey there himself in a few weeks. You agree to loan him your sleeping mats for the trip, and when you stop by to drop them off, he has a house guest staying who works in a university in Montreal – which just happens to be where you’re looking at applying for a job next year. He launches forth with all sorts of useful advice about the city, some of which helps you make a much better decision about how to make the move. As for the camping spot, it goes on to become one of your friend’s favourite places in the world, and he forever warmly associates you with his having discovered it.