Measuring the Cost

When I was young I imagined being a princess or a rich person who owned and lived in a castle or a very large mansion. I would imagine walking through my castle and pretend what I would do. When it came to the mansion. My cousin and I would talk about having a secret passage and room. That was fun. When I got older the reality set in. I didn't need a huge place. I didn't want to clean it anyways. Well, there would be maids but I still felt like it would be too big to make it really feel like a home. By the time I was an adult I knew that I didn't need to be rich. I just wanted to be comfortable. That is how I view money. I don't aspire to be rich or even think about it in the sense of becoming rich. I do think about it when it comes to paying for my child's college or going on vacations together. I just want to be comfortable enough to not have to worry and to be able to help people when needed. The Lord answered the thoughts I was having. It wasn't really a prayer but a wish. It is a righteous desire. He granted it. I have been married for almost 25 years now and have not really ever had any issues. There was one time in our early marriage where we had to be smarter with our money and reassess what we were spending on but we have been good ever since. 

I think whatever view you have on money can definitely affect the way you live. If you have a healthy expectation of your monetary situation then you will be satisfied. If you don't have a lot but think that you are entitled to anything and everything you are not ever going to be satisfied and you will not be happy because you will have to eventually pay for all of it. My husband and I wanted to have an excellent credit score and not be in debt. We have never gotten into debt except for car, home, and schooling. We have paid everything off as quickly as we could. We use our credit card for everything to get points but pay them off every month. Our credit scores are amazing. We are happy and don't have the tension of unnecessary debt. 

I think the rule of not treating money as a "love". In the article "Attitude On Money" he references "The love of money is the root of all evil." When we put money above God or anything else as a motivator, we lose focus on the important things in life. Not everything is about money even though in this world everything is about money. One of my classmates referenced the order we should value things. God, family, work, everything else. That doesn't have money in the equation. It is just a tool. An important tool that we need to sustain a good living but that should never be the focus of our lives. 

Other thoughts - 

A quote from "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" stood out to me. Actually, a lot stood out to me but this one was more. "... later in life, we are far more likely to regret risks not taken than mistakes made." I think of how old I am and what I have actually done in my life. I have done a few things and am doing a bit more now that my kids are older like going to school, helping in church, and creating for business. At my age now, I look at my life and think of what I could have accomplished if I wasn't afraid to make mistakes. I am getting the message now. I need to move forward and make mistakes (not morally) so that I can learn from them and get better. I am doing that. I have been creating more printables and thinking about what to sell. I have been able to put stuff on my Etsy store and start building my store up. The next thing is to market myself. I know how to do it but I get lazy. That is the mistake I am learning from right now. 

Another quote from the same article was, "Overcoming challenges releases chemicals like dopamine in our brains that make us feel good." This made me think of when I did an Escape the Crate activity with my son. It is a story, and you do escape room-type activities along the way. Every time we were able to figure out the puzzle and move on, any tension was released. Some challenges were confusing. It's like that. We go through a problem or challenge in life, whether it is personal, social, business, etc, and when we can get past that challenge it feels so good. I think it's just remembering that most challenges or problems aren't going to last. They almost always get resolved. And when they do, it is a relief. 

This was said in a couple articles this week. It is to the effect of we need to not focus on ourselves. We need to focus on others to truly be happy and satisfied in our lives. Jesus was the perfect example of thinking and serving others. Even in his last moments, he was thinking of others. I think that if we were to lose ourselves in service or think of others more than ourselves we would be happier and more fulfilled. And, it would bring happiness to others too. A two-for-one! We can do that in business too. Be willing to help others through your business but outside of your scope. Put on an event to bring a community together, or donate items and things from the business for a fundraiser, to name a few. Yes, it is a cost to your business but the rewards are way better!

Corey Bell in "Action Hero" said,  "Too often we walk through life believing that someone owes us something, when instead, really, we owe the world." It is interesting how people will say "I deserve this" when in actuality they don't necessarily deserve it. They just want it and are justifying the fact that they deserve it because they think it is owed to them. Not a lot of things are deserved. Maybe a metal to someone who has worked hard and won something. They deserve the metal. But for someone who wants a boat. They don't deserve it. They just want it. If we got past the "I want" part of us and turn to the "What can I give" part we will be way more fulfilled. The feeling we get when we do that stays with us and motivates us in a positive way then just acquiring things ever would.