Wealth accrual doesn’t always mean satisfaction – often your wellbeing matters more

Dopamine is highly addictive.

Unlike other addictive substances that are produced in laboratories, Breaking Bad style, or harvested in Columbia, it’s produced naturally by the human body.

It’s what drives the sense of pleasure you get when you hit a target or achieve a goal.

Its positive aspect is how it can motivate you to achieve success. However, the overriding desire to continually repeat that success can create a situation where many successful people find it difficult to enjoy their accomplishments.

This is because our brains are hardwired to seek balance from extreme emotional states so that any big “high” is followed by a balancing low.

Because of this, you can end up constantly setting yourself new targets to feel a sense of short-term euphoria, followed by much longer-term periods of feeling unfulfilled.

It can also account for the seemingly synergetic relationship between money and happiness. It’s far too easy to get into the cycle of seeking ever-greater wealth in the belief that it’s the only road to satisfaction and fulfilment.

Instead, you can easily reach a situation where your pursuit of more wealth ends up making you feel miserable and depressed.

The importance of your own personal wellbeing

Even the most successful people in their chosen field can struggle to properly enjoy their accomplishments.

It’s easy to become all-consumed with work and wealth accumulation. As a result, many successful entrepreneurs and businesspeople suffer from depression or other mental illnesses.

For example, a Forbes article highlights studies that revealed the prevalence of mental health issues among UK business founders and the potential consequences for the companies they created.

Being ambitious and wanting to provide the best for your loved ones is a positive trait. However, you can get into an introspective cycle of measuring your perceived worth and being obsessed with growing it, rather than looking at your personal enjoyment and overall wellbeing.

There’s also the associated problem of sacrificing your health and happiness in pursuit of external goals. Doing this means you may well be storing up long-term problems, both in terms of your physical wellbeing and your personal relationships.

The feeling of contentment you gain from social relationships, and from ensuring you have a sense of altruistic purpose in your life, is likely to have a more positive effect on your wellbeing and happiness than the simple accumulation of more money.

Additionally, you can also create a positive cycle for yourself, as opposed to the negative one you read about earlier, by using your existing wealth to generate wellbeing for yourself and others.

The value of contributing to the growth and happiness of others

You are liable to get a greater sense of personal satisfaction by helping others than through a single-minded focus on your own career.

Indeed, from a career perspective, you can often get a great sense of fulfilment by making a positive difference and helping others by creating opportunities for them to grow. Effectively, again from the point of view of your career, you’re taking them on your journey with you.

As the saying goes, it can be lonely at the top, but it’ll be less lonely if there are people around you who you can work with and support. As a result, you will then derive the sense of wellbeing that comes from helping others thrive.

So, rather than continually moving your own goalposts, it could be more rewarding, and ultimately far less stress-inducing, to make positive contributions to the lives of colleagues.

Focusing on your relationship with family and friends

In the same way that you could contribute to the growth of others at work, the same can apply much closer to home regarding your relationships with your family and friends.

These people will be the ones you can turn to when you’re finding the going difficult, so making that investment of time and attention can improve your wellbeing.

Furthermore, doing this can have a beneficial effect on your ability to fulfil work-related tasks. The backing and support you get from your family and friends can be invaluable, as it provides the balance and emotional support you need to thrive.

Find out more about defining wealth and your relationship with money

I have previously written three articles that you might find useful relating to your relationship with money and wealth.

1. Why you should stop moving your goalposts

This outlines the problems created when your instinct of wealth accumulation becomes all-consuming, so you are only ever focused on your next acquisition, rather than being able to see the wider picture.

When you are defining your success through your next consumer purchase, it’s easy to become overly stressed and reach the position of never being entirely happy – regardless of your wealth.

2. What does wealthy mean and how does it impact on your retirement planning?

In this article, I outline why defining “wealth” should focus on more than simply measuring the value of your assets.

While that will give you a decent approximation of your overall monetary worth, from a financial planning point of view I often think it’s more about your state of mind than your tangible assets.

3. Why your personal benchmarks are more important that external ones

Throughout your life, it’s always tempting to compare your circumstances and achievements to others. You will probably have heard of this being referred to as “keeping up with the Jones’s”.

Effectively, you’re benchmarking your own position against an external comparison. In reality, you are likely to get a far better sense of fulfilment and reduce your stress levels if you’re only considering your own personal benchmarks.

Get in touch

If you’d like to talk through your financial plans and the importance of your personal wellbeing, then please get in touch.

You can call me on 07769 156 250.

Please note

This blog is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Equity investments do not afford the same capital security as deposit accounts.