Hello, dear questioner! I'm Liu, your friendly listener.
Let me give you a big, warm hug first!
I think it's a great question! It's so interesting to think about whether money can actually lead to happiness. As you mentioned in your statement, if money is the only answer to happiness, it makes you wonder why there are so many sad stories in the news about money causing problems.
I think it's a great question! It's so interesting to think about whether money can actually make us happy. As you mentioned in your statement, if money is the only answer to happiness, then why are there so many sad stories about money in the real world?
This shows that you're a curious person with excellent critical thinking skills. You think and doubt, and this is a wonderful strength of yours.
First, people have always been drawn to wealth. It offers so many wonderful benefits! We often think that wealth and happiness go hand in hand. One of the main reasons people want to be wealthy is because they crave a sense of security.
In Chinese mythology, there's a popular character called the "God of Wealth." If you go to the temple, you'll find that the God of Wealth temple is extremely prosperous! We often bless others with words like "Gongxi Fa Cai" and "Caiyun Hengtong." I believe it's natural for people to seek wealth. The key is to obtain it in the right way. But I also wonder what causes us to automatically associate "wealth" with "fortune."
If you have the chance to chat with the older generation, you'll find that in those days, it was already really tough for folks to have enough to eat and warm clothes. From a social perspective, China is also working hard to find a way out of poverty. It's been a long journey, but in the past decade, we've made some great strides.
Looking back at history, during the period of reform and opening up, we also used the term "affluence." It's so interesting how the more we seek something, the more we fear the opposite of what we seek. People fear a state of poverty where they have nothing.
So, to really understand why people want to be wealthy, you also have to understand why they're afraid of being poor.
We all want to live a good life, and that often starts with wanting the things we need to survive.
Our psychology is actually a pretty strange thing, isn't it?
We always talk about balance, but let's be honest, we all have a tendency to worry about extreme poverty and crave extreme wealth. It's only natural! We want to feel safe, and we think that having more money will make us feel safer. But, as we gain more wealth, we start to feel like there's no end in sight.
As a result, over time, ideas about wealth and happiness have become more and more connected.
2. "Misfortune is the foundation of good fortune, and good fortune is the source of misfortune." Our wise ancestors taught us a long time ago that we should look at problems in more than one way. It's good to think dialectically about the relationship between money and happiness!
You made a great point in your statement! Having wealth can definitely bring affluence and open-mindedness in life. We can have more opportunities and enjoy a higher quality of life, which is wonderful! However, it may also lead to family breakdown due to the inability to protect wealth, or even family disputes over wealth. Even the fight over huge wealth resources may lead to war, which is a scary thought! There is plenty of evidence for these examples in history and even in the modern era.
We'll see that this is a "double-edged sword." That is, wealth may bring happiness, but it may also bring unhappiness. In that case, it's tough to say that wealth is the be-all and end-all of "happiness."
I just want to say that we shouldn't fall into the other extreme and think that wealth is the root of all evil. A gentleman loves wealth and obtains it in a proper way. So, we can't sneer at money, or even despise and spurn those who use proper means to obtain wealth. There's never an absolute hierarchy of concepts in the world, and many people have the desire to make their lives better.
But if we define wealth as happiness, we might lose sight of the different kinds of happiness there are.
Money can definitely bring happiness!
But money isn't the key to happiness, sweetheart.
3. Based on your question, I'd love to offer some suggestions that I think might be helpful for you. They're just my personal opinions, but I hope they're useful for you to think about.
(1) We'll gradually start to notice that we're becoming more independent. It's a big step, and it's something to be proud of! As you navigate this new phase, remember to respect your own feelings, explore your interests actively, and stand by your own value system.
(1) We'll gradually start to recognize our independence. It's so important to see yourself as worthy of respect. Take care of yourself by respecting your feelings, exploring them actively, and standing up for your own value system.
It's totally normal to feel confused when our understanding of happiness is influenced by the important people around us. And when we have different values from our parents, it can make us feel a bit lost. Sometimes, we also question ourselves because we are facing "authorities."
It's totally normal to feel confused when our values differ from those of our parents. It's like we're caught between two worlds! We might even question ourselves, wondering if we're wrong and why we have different ideas. But here's the thing: the process of developing self-awareness, establishing our own assumptions about happiness, and then carefully verifying them is a sign of our gradual intellectual maturity. It's a journey that we all go through!
This shows that our values are no longer based solely on the construction of our parents, but on our own choices, which is really great!
As you mentioned, you believe that getting into a good university is for self-growth, but your parents believe that the ultimate goal is to earn more money and that this may be the standard of happiness. Please trust your own judgment. Happiness itself is a state of personal self-awareness, a reflection of one's own evaluation of oneself, and it is subjective in nature.
As you mentioned, you believe that getting into a good university is for self-growth, but your parents believe that the ultimate goal is to earn more money and that this may be the standard of happiness. Please trust your own judgment. Happiness itself is a state of personal self-awareness, a reflection of one's own evaluation of oneself, and it is subjective in nature.
For you, happiness is all about learning new things, using your knowledge, and working hard for your ideals.
(2) It's time to define happiness for yourself! We often get it backwards, thinking that wealth is the key to happiness. But maybe it's something that can come along for the ride when we're on our way to finding true happiness within.
Our values are shaped by our personal experiences. If you feel stuck or blocked, it's totally normal! You can always reach out to a professional psychological practitioner. Talking with someone can help you gain clarity and deeper self-awareness.
We may have already realized that wealth does not equal happiness, but it's still important to establish our own cognitive system of happiness. This process can be tricky, and we may be influenced or even disturbed by various factors. Just as we may misinterpret transient pleasure as happiness, or misunderstand comparison with others as the same, happiness itself is a sustainable psychological state. This means we need to slowly find our own "coordinate system" of happiness. Self-reflection can be really helpful here, as it helps us to visualize the subconscious and see what our inner desires are and what is hindering us. With a little exploration, I'm sure the fog surrounding happiness will gradually disappear.
I truly believe that you will find happiness.
(3) I really encourage you to try to make yourself a happy person and see the strength within yourself.
We all have our own ideas about what happiness is, but one thing we can all agree on is that happiness is a key topic in positive psychology. And it's something we've all been exploring for a long time! If you want to be happy, it's important to tap into your inner potential and give yourself lots of positive feedback.
It takes courage to ask a question, and you have this courage, which is so admirable. This also creates a wonderful opportunity for us to become happy people. If you have the chance, I highly recommend reading some books on positive psychology. They can be so helpful!
That's all I can say for now!
I'm so grateful you took the time to read this!
I wish you all the best!
Hi, I'm a listening therapist at Yixinli.
Please, don't hesitate to reach out to me for a chat!
Comments
I can totally relate to what you're saying. Our parents push us towards success thinking it will ensure a better future, but money alone doesn't seem to be the answer to happiness.
It's true that financial stability opens doors, yet it's also clear that wealth brings its own set of challenges. The stories of lottery winners who lose everything are a cautionary tale about the importance of managing resources wisely.
While a good education and financial success are important, it seems like there's more to life than just accumulating wealth. Personal fulfillment and relationships might be even more crucial in the long run.
The pursuit of money often overshadows the pursuit of happiness. Yet, when we see family disputes over inheritance, it makes you wonder if the focus should be on teaching values rather than just acquiring assets.
Your thoughts really hit home. It's almost as if society equates success with wealth, but the real treasure could be in the quality of our lives and relationships rather than just our bank accounts.