why is it that i'm not satisfied?

I believe a key element to finding satisfaction and fulfilment is through perspective. This probably seems obvious but most people fail to recognise this fact.

I was always taught to keep things in perspective and to look at the big picture. My family was relatively well-off in their country of origin (grand father owned a coal factory) but due to war they made the decision to leave everything behind in hopes of attaining a better life in Australia. My parents started from scratch and worked hard to provide my siblings and me a better life. If times were ever tough; our parents would remind us to put things in perspective (recognising countries in war, kids suffering from starvation, etc) which made us realise how lucky we already were.

This is probably cliché but, some people see the glass as half empty while others see it as half full. Some people look at the rich/wealthy and want more without realising what is enough. Maybe putting things back in perspective may help them?

p.s. don’t buy things you can’t afford with money you don’t have to impress people you don’t like :)
 
Bhudda says something about desire being linked with suffering.
Click to expand...

desire is the root of unhappiness.

it's a commonly misquoted saying that i think people should get right.

much the same as "money is the root of all evil" - when, it's not. "the love of money is a root of evil" - it's not a blanket saying that "all money is all evil" - it's the "love" of money being a "part" of evil.

why do we invest....? we invest because it's our definition of success. some folk's definition involves the BMW X5, others a 90in LED telly, others having a secure job, others big poker players.

it all depends where you're from. if you're from the school of hard knocks, just having a great job may be all you want. if you came from the life of the obligated and silver spoon, then travelling and breaking free of that may be your utter desire.

ultimately, the only thing that makes us happy is laughing with friends, helping them paint their house, going on holiday with family and a little introspection and/or hobby time every now and then.

what happens everywhere else is just fluff - stuff we do to fill the gaps between.
 
The buddha says that the root of all suffering is due to attachment. attachment to things, to ideas, to people to anything. Everything is empty. Ekhart Tolle talks about the same thing. The moment you realise that every thing is transient, there is no such thing as security and that the only sure thing in life is uncertaintly then you get a glimmer of what it is like to live moment by moment...

Real life is full of contradictions

The moment you accept you are weak - you are strong
The moment you admit you know nothing - you know something
The moment you admit that approaching life with some detachment brings you freedom, this very freedom then miraculously gives you closeness (because its from the right place)...

Geez - anyone got a beer?
 
Great thread. I relate to some of what others are saying.

I have a few quirks, one is denying myself a planned spend on a new toy just to prove I have the will power even if I have the money. I've always had very strong willpower, denying my want's just makes doing it easier each time.

I also agree with the slowing down idea, I don't want to stay super busy forever, it will be hard to kick but just floating out the back of the surf on a great day down the beach is heaven. Just watching the waves roll by.

I also go camping with very minimal gear as often as I can. This reminds me of how little I need to survive, how much enjoyment I can get out of just taking in a great day in the bush or at the beach. It's great at clearing the mind and refreshing, I always get home and feel revitalised, getting up with the sun and going to bed so early when camping has a great effect on me.

On the other side, my motivation is highest when I'm really super peeved at something, it fires up my willpower and passion and I'm unstoppable if I direct my energy into something constructive.

It's also amazing the clarity you get when you break a leg and are forced off work for 3 months. Everything becomes so clear and plans just materialise out of no where. I call this perspective.

A change of jobs every 5 or so years helps immensely too. And realising when you have enough and you are content with 'your lot'.

But slowing down is the best thing to satisfy me, see the fisherman story above, there's a great message in that story.
 
Best book I've read recently on the subject "Enough" by John Bogle. He is the guy who started and runs Vanguard in the States. Yep when investment funds were not known, he started the whole industry! Yet most have never heard of him.

Well he tells a great story on page 1......
Here are a grp of people at a party given by a Wall Street billionaire.
At the party is the author of Catch 22, Joseph Heller. Heller's friend asks the him..."You know, you are much more famous than our host, yet have much less than him, but you seem much more content. Why?"...The answer is great....

"I think our host never has ENOUGH"

(the above is from memory, so don't quote me, since i have the memory of a goldfish).:)
Hence the title of the book....Enough.
Quite a good read and is free from the library!! :D

JB
 
I did a stint at LIFFE and eyeballed the guy that invented futures trading apparantly. just some dishevelled guy in the corner of the office. when you mentioned a guy that no one had ever heard of it jogged my memory. A big diff between a good idea and commercialisation of a good idea.
 
Bradje - Any guy that has spoken to Jospeh Heller at a party has my immediate admiration - I will buy the book! (having said that Mr Hellers revelation is not all that incredibly insightful - we say that all the time...hence this thread).
 
I also recommend reading Affluenza, Clive Hamilton.

Haven't read the whole thread but wanted to say it's all about the system. The restlessness is exactly what 'they' want you to have. Without it people wouldn't buy. If you didn't buy there would be no economy/system/jobs etc.

Just think about how many advertisments you see a day. Flick on the telly and you are bombarded with new cars, clothes, stuff. The marketeers job is to make you feel unsatisfied, so you get in your car and buy.

People who are satisfied with what they have (or try hard to be) is probably because they are aware of this finally turned system and dont care what others think of them.

I also believe we are all so removed from nature and the simply joys of the natural world around us and that our pleasure is deeply enbedded in materialism. So many people are so flogged from working all week, they have little motivation other than to go to the mall on their day off and buy cause this is the one little freedom they have.

Love that quote, BV8
 
Best advice I ever received was from a friend who is a multi-millionaire (not that you would remotely guess if you met her and her husband).

Quote:
"once you have enough, any more money is just that, more money".

We have enough - and are very contented.
Marg
 
marg4000 said:
Best advice I ever received was from a friend who is a multi-millionaire (not that you would remotely guess if you met her and her husband).

Quote:
"once you have enough, any more money is just that, more money".

We have enough - and are very contented.
Marg
Click to expand...

hey Marg, good for you. :)

My initial venture into investing was to make money. I had no idea what I was doing but bought an IP.

I had that for quite a few years before I began to think of retirement and how that would be possible on a pension - if a pension was still around by then.

My next step into investing was for the purpose of retirement. The purpose was not to literally have more money in my pocket but to aspire for a comfortable retirement with enough equity to sell and keep us comfortable.

The hardest part of my journey has been to know when to say "Enough Equity" and change the plan to "More money in my pocket."

Little did I know back then, that I should have aspired for both. :) :)

Regards JO
 
When is enough ..enough?
May 2010 I plan to retire from my employed work.
It will be a 5 1/2 year journey from our first IP.
We certainly won't retire with any pension (both too young), and we will have lots of debt.Even if we don't buy another property, as we naturally pay off the debts (all loans are P & I ), we will have more money and equity as the years go on.
All I want from retirment is a chance to breathe. Having to work 40 hrs employed work and then doing a second job from IP's is burning me out.
We don't live a lavish life now, so our standard of living won't change.
I already bank my paycheque so we are having a trial run at living off our IPs.
So far, so good.
 
lizzie said:
why is it that some people are happy and content to live in the same house, in the same industrial suburb, with the same kitchen and carpet, for 50 years ... while we (g/frnd and i) are striving to have better and better all the time? not more - just better.
Click to expand...

Interesting, in one post you're trying to promote living as frugal as possible and basically not spending anything as the perfect way to financial success, but in here you're expressing how these other "people" which you probably classify as "the average in-debt Australian family" to be just standing still in their lives, not upgrading their kitchens, driving around in their old beatup cars.

This does not surprise me. It seems every class likes to say something bad about the class under them, but it never works the other way. For example, you would classify these "people" as boring, unmotivated people, but then you take swipes at those who drive around in their Mercs/own million dollar houses as idiotic spenders.

It seems people like to make examples of those less fortunate then themselves but like to make fun of those above them, I'm guessing these unmotivated/poor people you talk about, say the same thing about you.

It's just a vicious cycle that looks something like this:
http://www.fortunewatch.com/career-path-wow-how-true/
 
cloudyday said:
Interesting, in one post you're trying to promote living as frugal as possible and basically not spending anything as the perfect way to financial success, but in here you're expressing how these other "people" which you probably classify as "the average in-debt Australian family" to be just standing still in their lives, not upgrading their kitchens, driving around in their old beatup cars. ... For example, you would classify these "people" as boring, unmotivated people, but then you take swipes at those who drive around in their Mercs/own million dollar houses as idiotic spenders.
Click to expand...
In fairness, that seems a misrepresentation of what lizzie said. In this thread, I understood that she was posing a sincere philosophical question about what drives people. I didn't see her as "having a go" at those who don't share that drive at all. Nor, in the other thread, did I see her saying that frugality was the perfect way to success, or having a go at those who are spenders.
cloudyday said:
It's just a vicious cycle that looks something like this:
http://www.fortunewatch.com/career-path-wow-how-true/
Click to expand...
LOL :D
 
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