"Most of us like to believe we're too sophisticated to confuse money with purpose. Yet a surprising number of people, especially younger generations, slip into that trap without ever consciously choosing it. The idea that "my purpose is to make money" has become so pervasive that it rarely gets questioned. It's simple, it's measurable, and on the surface, it makes sense."
"I see more and more young adults anchoring their sense of purpose to financial achievement. Sometimes consciously, often not. It's not hard to see why. We celebrate creators, innovators, and people with big ideas, but we idolize wealth even more. Nothing captures this obsession better than the annual Forbes Billionaires List. It reads less like a financial report and more like a scoreboard that the world watches with awe."
"Three forces in particular make wealth feel like a ready-made purpose: 1. Wealth is a public performance. We've created a culture where success is displayed through luxury vacations, curated lifestyles, and consumption disguised as inspiration. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have turned money into entertainment and comparison into an involuntary habit. 2. Wealth feels like the "hard you know." Finding your purpose is complex, emotional, and often uncomfortable. It feels existential-because it is. Wealth, by contrast, is concrete."
Many people equate wealth with purpose because money is easy to measure, compare, and display. Accumulating money as a primary goal often produces anxiety, confusion, and loss-aversion rather than fulfillment. Public displays of wealth on social media and lists such as the Forbes Billionaires List reinforce wealth as a social scoreboard. Wealth also feels like the "hard you know" because financial targets are concrete and trackable, while finding purpose requires complex, uncomfortable self-inquiry. Genuine purpose emerges from introspection and values rather than chasing higher net worth or external validation.
Read at Psychology Today
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