My mother told me not to chase money, but I questioned why.

My mom always told me not to chase money, but balance. 

“Where does chasing money even get you?” she asks. “Yes, you have more, but don’t you realize the better things seem the bigger the catch is behind it? I’m not saying ‘don’t ever reach your goal of being rich,’ just reach it while keeping yourself balanced”. 

I took her words into consideration. There are many disgusting and disturbing ways of getting rich that might be the cause of all its consequences. 

There are also many great but time-consuming ways to become an individual of wealth, but I write to provide a different and maybe useful perspective on this issue. 

Let’s get something clear first. Would you rather get to your destination by hanging on a leaning aircraft or a balanced one?

This is the same question you should ask yourself when your main goal is to become a person of wealth. 

Now, let’s say you do reach your goal, do you even know how to manage that money? Taxes, debt, or even paying family and gifting loved ones can drain your money big time. So how do you earn it back up again? Stocks? That takes a while to get used to. 

Still, money solves a lot of your problems, so why would my mother continue to warn me from chasing it?

What happens when you chase something you desire? You’re more likely to leave important things behind, and the majority of your focus is blinded. 

What better way is there to prevent unwanted blindness than not chasing things? Especially not money. I can say from experience if you chase money you might not see an end to it – even if it affects your health. 

After all, numbers are infinite, so you might be chasing money till death since you can’t chase for eternity. 

For instance, take a moment to think of all the current wealthiest individuals. What reputation have they created for themselves? Are they the goal of “chasing the bag”, or is it the sugar-coated “day in the life” clips of Instagram influencers? 

Does their work ever stop? Does their spending ever stop, either? Wealth will eventually just descend to buying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of simple things like vases or socks. 

So instead of chasing the bag, chase happiness – true happiness. It is more valuable than any worldly currency out there. Choose happiness and develop a habit of gratefulness. Those two ingredients may attract what you long for the most and bring you better happiness than a million-dollar sock. 

The more grateful you are for what you have and the little things you accomplish, the greater and greater other rewards may be. 

So take a step back from swimming in your dreams and aspirations and instead mark that destination and turn around to build your wings.