Does Chasing Money Prevent Personal Growth?

The definition of Personal Growth has been given as —

Personal Growth is about becoming more than we already are… about being able to make finer distinctions and having better judgment… about being able to grasp greater and more complex propositions… about being able to reach better and more effective solutions to problems… it’s about having more choices and more options… about being smarter and wiser… and it is about gravitating the echelons of the human condition.

I saw this on an online discussion forum called Shamou's. Allowing that definition, I wondered What would be the ideal course of action to pursue Personal Growth?”

It seems to me, assuming the definition is correct, that the ideal course of action to pursue personal growth is a relentless pursuit of money. Because pursuing money is the only path that will satisfy all the elements of this definition of personal growth.

1. While becoming more than we already are might be achieved by other means, we *have* to become more than we already are to acquire more money.

2. While being able to make finer distinctions and having a better judgment might be achieved by other means, we *will* develop finer distinctions and learn to have better judgement through the process of acquiring more money.

3. While being able to grasp greater and more complex propositions can be achieved by other means, we *need* to grasp greater and more complex propositions to acquire more money.

4. While being able to reach better and more effective solutions to problems could be achieved by other means, we *would* learn to reach better and more effective solutions in learning how to acquire more money.

5. While having more choices and more options could be accomplished by other means, we would certainly *have* more choices and more options if we had more money.

6. While having more money wouldn't make us smarter and wiser, the hardship and sacrifice of acquiring more money would surely make us smarter and wiser, and

7. While gravitating the echelons of the human condition might to some extent be achievable without money, an abundance of money will certainly make improving the human condition a whole lot easier.

So, the ideal course of action to pursue personal growth is a relentless pursuit of money. If this definition of personal growth is correct.

If we pursue money for money's sake, we are heading in the wrong direction and growth stops!

Why? Why are we heading in the wrong direction? If pursuing money gets us to accomplish all the steps in the aforementioned definition of personal growth - why is that heading in the wrong direction?

Some may argue that if you pursue money for money's sake then money becomes more important than people. Growth stops the instant materialistic goals surpass humanness. Money, they will tell you, should always be the servant and not the master.

Again, I ask, Why? These are wonderful stock phrases that come out of a deficiency mindset - "I'm poor and proud of it!" "Who wants a house with 15 bathrooms, anyway?!"

What does it matter if money is more important than people? Or that people are more important than money? What if we made them of equal importance? Or made it so neither were important? Does growth really stop the moment materialistic goals surpass humanness? We have here a very detailed definition of personal growth, and I'm supposing that, as long as one is meeting the requirements of that definition, one is growing. No matter what your value system is regarding the relative values of money and people.

Take the first element in the definition - becoming more than we already are. If you do that - become more than you already are - by volunteering to Habitat for Humanity, United Way, Visiting sick people in hospital, etc., and I do it - become more than I already am - by trading the stockmarket, buying foreclosures, tax liens, repossessed luxury cars, or casino gambling, how is my personal growth any different from your personal growth? Your morals might be better than mine, but our personal growth is the same.

What does it matter if money is more important to you than people?

People will tell you, I need connection and love – you cannot get connection or love out of money. They say their self-worth is not related to money, but to relationships, friends and family. But then quickly add, "Don't get me wrong... I love money... but I love it because of what it can do... and not for what it is." They will tell you, money is just a tool, something to be used to give comfort, security and protection to those they love.

Fine. I don't disagree with any of that. But we are discussing personal growth, not morals. If you create personal growth for yourself through connection and love, and I find my personal growth through greater learning and understanding, why is one better than the other? I expect you are saying to yourself, "They are just different ways to reach the same end. One is not better than the other." And I would agree with that.

What about someone who reaches their personal growth by finding better and more clever ways to rob banks? In terms of personal growth, their bank-robbing way to personal growth is no better or worse than your love and connection way. Of course, if we were discussing morals, I would arrive at a different conclusion, but in terms of personal growth, there is no difference.

Now, when I compare the "love and connection" personal growth, with a "pursuit of money" personal growth, people make it sound like there is something wrong with the pursuit of money approach. Yet they are just different ways to reach the same end - personal growth - aren't they? My point is, that I don't think the 'love and connection' type of personal growth will satisfy all the elements listed in the original definition. It will satisfy some, but I think there needs to be some other vehicle to satisfy the remaining elements of the definition --- and we did say we were looking for the ideal course of action to pursue Personal Growth. I am looking for a single course of action as I believe that will be more ideal than a multi-faceted and disjointed course of action.

Most people are not much interested in money.

I wasn't much interested in money when I was growing up. In fact, statistically, that is about the same socio-economic upbringing as maybe 90% of the Western population. It's only over recent years that I have come to realise that that is the reason why 90% of the population have so little money - or feel they have so little money. Because they were brought up with little encouragement to have an interest in money. Even in the face of living in an urban society in which money is THE single most important factor of life (unlike a rural society that can live off the land and through barter.)

Now, I'm sure some will flinch at my calling money "THE single most important factor of life." However, if you live in a city and you don't have money, you die! Period. That makes it pretty darned important to my way of thinking! But our 'lack-of-interest' upbringing, with the practical half-denied realization that money IS the single most important factor of life, leads us into a dichotomy of - "If we pursue money for money's sake, we are heading in the wrong direction... but, if we pursue money as a power tool to be used for the common good... ..we are on the right track," and, "..if you pursue money for money's sake then money becomes more important than people." We don't say this about other aspects of personal growth - like, "If we pursue learning for learning's sake, we are on the wrong track." Or, "If we pursue having better judgment just for the sake of having better judgement, then having better judgement becomes more important than people..." It's only about money this idea is ever expressed.

We do, in fact, lie to ourselves about money. We lie to ourselves about how we think we feel about money. And that is totally predicated on the notion that money is evil, wrong or bad. We saywe love money, or respect money, but immediately make some excuse to pretend that we don't act that way. " Money is only a 'tool to be used for the common good'..." and so on. And by not acting that way, we lose what we might have, if we could be honest with ourselves. The supposition I sometimes hear — that Bill Gates and Warren Buffet both made tons of money, but money was not their primary objective, service was – leaves me baffled. These two men are my millionaire heros but I am very sure they both made the pursuit of money their prime objective. The philanthropy (service) came later.

If you have enough money to satisfy your needs for the rest of your life... why should the pursuit of money still be important?

I think the pursuit of money beyond "enough" serves two main purposes.

1. If you want to help people, it takes money, and the more money you donate to good causes the more good you can do. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett do a lot more good with their donations than I do with mine, and I do a lot more good with my donation than someone who is able to donate little.

2. The value as far as personal growth is concerned (the topic of this article) is in the pursuing, not so much in the achieving.

This second point is where the "stinkin' thinkin' " reveals itself. "I'm not pursuing money because I want more money, it's because I want more growth." "Personal growth is more important than money." "Money isn't important in my life." This progression is a lie. (For most people, that is, but I presume hermits living in a cave are not reading this.)

There is value in personal growth. There is value in having more money. If we are talking about one, the other is less important for that conversation. If we are talking about something else entirely - the magnificence of a volcanic eruption, say - neither are important. In the whole scheme of things, everything has its own specific importance.

Where I think people make a mistake is in dismissing the importance of money. It is socially relevant, I think, to try to appear not greedy, not money-grubbing, not miserly. No-one wants to be thought of as an avaricious hoarder. So, we downplay our true feelings about money. The trouble with that approach is, we begin to believe these depreciating lies. We pass them on to our children and we arrive at a place where money is not even part of our children's upbringing. The most important topic in practical living is not even discussed in schools and children enter the world totally unprepared for the life they will live. The single most important factor of life has not been part of their foundational education. How stupid is that?

If you tell a lie often enough, people will begin to believe it. If you tell a lie often enough you will begin to believe it yourself! Affirmations work in both directions. I consider it my job to kick people hard enough to get them to accept and understand the importance of money and own up to that fact, and be proud that they realize it. And to get them to stop the constant self-destructive stinkin' thinkin' I hear every minute of every day.