We all wish to be happy and more prosperous. Did you know those two desired states are independent of each other?
How much do you earn each month?
Your answer, particularly if you’re reading ‘Money Thoughts’ alone right now, is for your own contemplation. However, I’m 99% sure you would rather be making a lot more money. Am I right?
Extensive international research on the thoughts and income aspirations of working adults suggests most people believe they will happy or at least satisfied if they could earn 100% more than they do now. What about you?
If you tell yourself you would be truly happy if only you earned twice what you currently make, you can revel in knowing you have plenty of company. Unfortunately, that shared belief is wrong!
The human organism has a highly developed capacity for upward adjustment. Allow me to explain:
If you’ve been driving a Proton all your adult life and were then able to buy a new foreign, say Japanese or German, car with higher specifications, you would be happy and grateful for a while. Or if you’ve been earning RM5,000 a month for the last year and then miraculously secure a huge upward move to another employer who pays you RM10,000 a month, you would be ecstatic... again, for a while.
But within three months of driving your fancier car every day and perhaps within six months of earning your doubled salary, your efficient internal ‘rheostat’ would have caused you to consider the improved car and increased salary as your new norms.
In pursuit of happiness
It’s just how most of us are wired internally. Therefore, I have a friendly piece of life planning advice for you:
Do NOT link your present state of happiness to how much money you earn.
Each of us needs to decide at the start of every day to BE happy. That decision alone, independent of our circumstances, at the onset of each new God-given day, will do more to help you feel persistently good about your precious life than any increment, bonus or big purchase ever will!
Nonetheless, it is vital you focus on consistently boosting your active income to meet your life goals. If you manage your mind and skill set effectively, you can transition onto an accelerated income track by adopting these age specific strategies to earn incrementally more over your working lifetime:
Under 30 - work harder and harder;
30-45 - work harder and smarter; and
Over 45 - work smarter and smarter.
(Note: Your long-term financial success is not merely linked to how much you earn on the job; other factors come into play, such as controlling your expenses, especially as a young or youngish adult; wisely managing your debts; establishing an Emergency Buffer Fund (EBF); saving and investing wisely; and transforming your resultant passive income trickle to a stream and then, over decades, into a roaring river.)
In next week’s column, we will explore ways to curtail our living costs based on wise lifestyle choices. For now, though, I want to leave you with specific guidelines on working hard and harder, smart and smarter.
If you’re under 30 today, you’re in the prime of life, physically speaking, yet in all honesty you lack vast work and life experience. Therefore to earn more active income, play to your strengths. Decide to be the hardest, most industrious, most diligent worker in your organisation.
Just as being happy hinges on a mental switch you choose to flip-on each morning, being a hard worker depends upon your choice to be hyper-diligent, wholly trustworthy and super-responsible every single day at work.
In recent months I have met young Malaysians who have taken on a second job, such as driving for Grab or selling products and services online to augment their income. Other overachievers of their generation stay focused on just their one main job yet proactively choose to work longer and longer hours to prove themselves to, well, themselves and to their superiors!
Once you reach the big three-oh, though, it makes sense to shift gears and work incrementally smarter. The experience you’ve garnered and the contacts you’ve made up to this point will ensure your next season of life, up to about 45, is even more fun as you start earning more and more because of your heightened value to your employer or customers. Focus also on committing 2% to 5% of your monthly income on learning resources like trade journals, books and seminars which – if heeded and applied – will propel you to the pinnacle of your chosen field.
Once you turn 45, focus on growing ever smarter in how you work and interact with your subordinates, peers and superiors. Treat everyone equally, with kindness and dignity. Aim always to NOT be the loudest person in meetings but to be perceived as the most contemplative individual with the deepest reservoirs of knowledge.
By this time you should also be LinkedIn savvy and regularly use that powerful social media platform (for serious professionals) to build your personal brand.
That’s it for today; all the best embarking upon a journey of boosting your active income throughout your (hopefully) long decades of significant, meaningful and rewarding work even as you decide each day to be happy.
© 2019 Rajen Devadason
Rajen Devadason, CFP, is a Licensed Financial Planner, professional speaker and author. Read his free articles at www.FreeCoolArticles.com; he may be connected with on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajendevadason, or via rajen@RajenDevadason.com You may follow him on Twitter @RajenDevadason