Money And Happiness
First of all, Happy Pi day! Now on to the business (post) at hand …
I came across this post a few days ago. and I quote retweeted it here. I’d like to just take a minute to expand on it some.
My Views Have Changed Over Time
Just going to toss this out up front. In the past, I was much more of the “be independent, don’t rely on others … you can sort things out independent of the hand you were dealt” type of person. To be fair, I still am, but if we take that to the extremen, then we never need to help each other right? Then we can treat anyone however we feel like and it’s on them to pull themselves out of it, right? I used to kind of think that way, and to be honest, struggle with it still. While indepdence and self-reliance are necessary and good … taken too far, they can create a bitter isolated world. While I didn’t have the most privileged and wealthy of families growing up, I also didn’t have the appreciation for the privilege I did have. I thought “well, I haven’t been dealth the easiest hand … I’ve got my own problems to sort”. I’ve come to recognize the luck, good fortune, privileged and other aids that have put me into the good place I’m in now. Over time, I’ve become more aware of the historical racial, gender-based and societal injustices and inequalities throughout the world, but especially in the US. This last year has put an exclamation point on that change of view.
Early 2020, 90%
Despite the 2020, This has nothing to do with the pandemic (except this story was kind of lost in that for me until now). About a year ago, I was feeling a bit burned out (from life in general, including work). Work though, was the one place I felt I could negotiate something different. I now see/recognize that as ‘privilege’. You can use the term ‘blessing’ also if you like, I would/do. However, I do not use it in a way that I think I deserve something special and someone else doesn’t. I did work hard, but there’s too many other factors that landed me that privilege for me to claim it as ‘mine’. Anyhoo, I had the opportunity to say I’d like to work a little less in exchange for some mental health benefits.
In a nutshell, I was allowed and arranged to work roughly 4 hours less per week (US assumes 40 hour work week for full-time salaried employees) for a 10% cut in pay. All my other benefits remained the same etc. We have ‘untracked PTO’ where I work, so some (including my wife) were like “why not just use that?". Fact is, my conscience wouldn’t allow me to do that (~ 25 days per year) and still take other time/days off and I was aiming to force myself to take time off regularly.
Funny how distant and fuzzy it seems now, but as I recall, I started in February 2020. I would usually knock off by 10 AM to Noon on Friday and go snowboarding or something like that (sometimes on Thursdays instead) as I was trying out a weekday-only season pass for a local ski place. It was helpful mentally and emotionally for sure. Not only did I start to feel less stress and restored, but I felt like my 36-ish hours at work were better focused. While I was being fair with my company, I think mostly this helped me lop off unproductive time I was going to have anyway while my company got to pay me less. But this isn’t where I ‘m going with this …
Was I Buying Happiness?
So, let’s go back to the original point I sort of made: I was able to essentially ‘buy’ my time and sanity back. It’s almost like I was buying happiness, right? In a way, I was sort of. I was trading money for more time, which time allowed me to go enjoy myself. So, let’s break it down, for a 10% cut in pay …
- I spent time with a friend (who has been doing the weekday pass for years and suggested it to me)
- I learned to snowboard better and I love learning new things (i.e. helps me to be happy)
- My kids got to see me make the trade-off, and hopefully noted that “money isn’t everything”
- I took more time off w/o any guilt around it
I’ll admit it, it does look like I bought some happiness for 10% of my pay.
Back to 100%
The COVID-19 pandemic and its effect were looming by late February and talked to my boss about going back to 100%. A few things that I shared with him that I’ll share here:
- The 2 months had the desired effect. I did need it, but the 2 months was enough at that point.
- I learned lessons to help me be a more prodcutive employee that didn’t require I receive 90% pay.
- Difficult times were coming for others (my job is/has been insulated from the pandemic) and I could use that 10% to benefit others.
That Last Bullet Point
This experiment/experience was good and helpful and I learned from it. However, I felt that if I could ‘spend’ that 10% on myself, then I could use (at least some of) that 10% to benefit others, especially with the effects of the pandemic starting to surface. Now, I’m not gonna say that I immediately started giving away that 10% of my salary since then and/or that I’ve been all the happier during the pandemic period (definitely not how things have gone down with all the isolation). However, it all gave me perspective. If I could ‘spend’ (or not earn) 10% for my own happiness, why not live on a little less for myself and give more to others who have material needs? That’s what I’ve tried to do. I have more to learn and do still, but I am even more convinced that being on the lookout for others’ well-being is a better way to be happier.
Not Judging
While you may not be of my faith, what Kind Benjamin had to say in the Book of Mormon encapsulates much of how this feels for me. It’s not up to me to judge someone else’s circumstance and the why of those circumstances (and withhold from them if I project some judgement). If I am in a position to help, I should help. It won’t be counted to me for evil. If I beleive in accountability (I do), then any dishonesty in the request is theirs and not mine, I don’t have to assume the responsibility to judge. I do have to make judgements about how and where I help, because time and resources are not endless. While I appreciate his honesty, the guy with the “why lie, it’s for beer!” sign won’t get my money. The guy with a sign about being a veteran, being unemployed, having a family etc … I don’t need to go background check him. If I can help, I help. If I give to one requesting support and have given what I can when the next person asks (and then I can’t), that’s OK and I also don’t need to judge myself.
All Beggars, Right?
But let’s say they did do something to put themselves in that bad predicament? Well, haven’t we all done something stupid? And most of us, I bet have even done something stupid and not felt the full consequences of it. So, even if that person did something to land themself in said predicament, I’d like to think I could still find a way to lend a hand. I’m careful in my language there as I would like to think that, but know it’s not a guarantee I would. Anyhoo …
Buy Some Happiness, Just Help
It’s just that simple, if you are in a position to help (or to earn more so you can help more), then go ahead and do it. Not spending time/effort judging is rather liberating. Add helping to that and you’ve got a pretty powerful anti-depressant as noted in the original tweet referenced above.
So, maybe you can use money to ‘buy some happiness’ after all.