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I love to ask these questions to my peers. “Between yearly income of RM250 thousand and RM 100 thousand, which one would you prefer?” Almost everyone including myself will answer RM250 thousand. The next question, “What if the stress level of RM250 thousand income is 100 times greater compared to RM100 thousand? Would you still prefer the higher income?”

There is no right or wrong answer to the second question, but the answer given says a lot about the current status of the person. Five years ago, I would have jumped at any opportunity that was offering RM250 thousand yearly income. Now, I would prefer less stress.

Enough

I guess I finally understood the meaning of “enough”. I’m not saying I will say no to extra money. But if you were to ask me now to choose between less stress and more stress but extra money, I will always choose the former.

The issue I have with my decision is almost everyone within my age group is seeking for growth, while I’m settling for enough. This led me to question myself, should I consider myself a lazy person (pemalas) or is it simply because I have a different value system compared to others?

Inequality

Yanis Varoufakis is one of my favourite economists out there. I can easily relate to his views. That doesn’t necessarily mean I agree to all of it. Anyway, this video made me follow him closely and I started reading more of his articles and books.

In Chapter 1 of his book “Talking to My Daughter: A Brief History of Capitalism”, Yanis explained why there is so much inequality in this world. Although the chapter is about inequality, there was one point that made me wonder if there is an explanation of why I prefer enough compared to growth

I’m paraphrasing here but he asked this question, “Why did the Europeans invade other parts of the world and not the opposite?” He went on the explain that it was due to geographical reasons. The Europeans, forced by climate always had to find new ways to hunt, develop agriculture and store surpluses (mainly food) while people from the different continent were living in harmony with flora and fauna and there was no need to create any surpluses as they were easily available.

Sense of Lack

“With craving, we are dissatisfied but driven. Without craving, we are satisfied but lack ambition.“

James Clear

To think about it, growth is only possible when there is a sense of lack. Lack leads to desire and desire leads to action. I honestly believe at this point of time I’m content with what I have, hence the reason why I prefer enough and not further growth.

I realize this may not be true all the time. Since change is the only constant, I may switch my preferences in the future. Depending on my current job security, financial or family situation and maybe the need for new experiences, I may jump for a better opportunity later. For now, I shall enjoy the comfort zone I’m in.

Note: Since I believed in constant growth, I used to consider stagnant employees as “pemalas”, especially those 9 to 6 ones. As I grow older, I realize how wrong I was. There is more to life than working long hours and money.

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