Time is precious—buy yourself some more of it
We can send messages anywhere in the world instantly, travel across oceans in a matter of hours, and get almost anything we can dream of hand-delivered to our doorsteps within days. And yet despite our ability to do nearly everything faster and more efficiently, people across all income levels report experiencing a phenomenon known as time famine.
The idea that materialistic values can obstruct our path to happiness dates back hundreds of years. The Buddha encouraged a balance between asceticism and pleasure; early Christian monasticism preached spiritual transformation through simple living; philosopher Lao Tzu warned that if you chase after money, “your heart will never unclench.”
Centuries later, the question of whether money can bring us happiness remains a subject of intense debate. After all, as our culture of consumption expands exponentially, our lives increasingly revolve around money—Earning it, spending it, and saving it.