In the beginning most of us just want enough money to breathe, to escape poverty and afford some basic needs, to pay the bills without fear, to sleep at night without calculating how much is left in the bank, and all those things that bring rest and peace of mind.
In that moment when the stress disappears, we finally don’t feel the need to perform, and we can focus on the things we are truly good at: our hobbies, our talents, everything that makes us feel alive.
But something strange happens along the way.
Once that pressure disappears, many people don’t move toward the talents or purpose they have in life. Instead, they get put into a new kind of place. It’s no longer about survival anymore; it’s about lifestyle. So they have a big and expensive phone, a nice car, they’re living in nice developments and neighborhoods. You tell yourself, “This is the reward, this is just adulthood.”
But sometimes, because the change is gradual, you don’t notice that it’s like a heavy burden on you. It doesn’t help that the world around us glorifies power and status to some extent. You see people chasing influence, trying to be popular, wanting attention, seeking secret validation. You watch friends who won’t stop talking about fashion, not talking about profits.
Slowly you start realizing it: you begin measuring your own life by the numbers, by your numbers, instead of by true meaning and true purpose.
The saddest part is many people wake up too late. One day they look around and wonder how they ended up living a life that wasn’t even theirs. A life shaped by noise, too many expectations, comparison, seeking validation. A life where their real gifts are buried under the constant pressure of upgrading a lifestyle.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
The moment you feel that shift, the moment you catch yourself chasing something you never wanted, all because of peer pressure and everything else, you can ask the most important question:
“What was my life supposed to be about?”
Not what society expects, not what your peers admire or are doing, but what you want deep inside, what you were created and made for.
Money should remove barriers, not create a new prison surrounded by things and peer pressure to keep up.
Once you have enough to stand on your feet, the real challenge begins: choosing the life that truly fits you, in whatever you are doing in life.
