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Ask HN: How to stop my greed for money?
21–30 of 80 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to stop my greed for money?
#22Just get your shit together
Re: Ask HN: How to stop my greed for money?
#23If I was in your situation I would start thinking along the following lines.
1. Tell yourself that it is okay to feel uncomfortable. This is uncomfortable feeling that you're not in control, that you're not making enough, that you're going to miss your one shot. This is the first step at reducing the anxiety of it.
2. Start to remove distracting consumptions. Social media, articles, news, etc. Spend time just being with yourself and appreciate the quiet. Put your phone on flight mode at night and charge it in a different room, get enough sleep.
3. Expose yourself to new perspectives. I have found the following audio books to be instrumental is figuring out how to be happier without greed:
a) A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
b) Man's Search for Meaning
c) The Power of Now (I'm only about 1 hour into this one, but it's made me think)
4. Start a new routine to break the habit of your current ways of thinking.
5. Meditate to help you regain control of your reactions - become reaction aware.
6. Don't look for whole solutions, progress happens in tiny steps and just keep exploring new ways to approach how you feel, how you motivate, how you enjoy the today. Sometimes it's the smaller things that have more profound effects.
7. Start measuring your progress in years, derived by small daily improvements.
I appreciate the above advice might not be for everyone, but it's something I'm going down and enjoying it very much. You already reached a fundamental point, to bring out of your subconscious how you really feel. Now you can consciously reprogram how you want to feel. Well done!
Re: Ask HN: How to stop my greed for money?
#24Give some charity. Do it consistently.
Why is this near the bottom of the page? Seriously.
Re: Ask HN: How to stop my greed for money?
#25Start traveling. It will give you a lot of different perspective on how big the world is and what an abstract thing is the concept of money.
Re: Ask HN: How to stop my greed for money?
#26The trick is to realize that most money is made accidentally and anyone telling you how they did it is ignoring luck. For every 30 year old multimillionaire, there are 2-300 more who did exactly the same as they did, but one got lucky.
Re: Ask HN: How to stop my greed for money?
#27>I make an average living (low six figures,
I make 33k a year...
Re: Ask HN: How to stop my greed for money?
#28You say you keep reading about all the people making millions. I suggest you think and read about 99% of people of the world poorer than you - who live in war torn countries with brutal dictators, who have to walk miles to get water, who don't have enough money to feed their children. Then you will realize how lucky and privileged you are to be making a six figure salary in a peaceful country (I am assuming you live in a peaceful country here). That would help curb your greed. Money is a mirage, the amount you want always seems just out of reach and you keep running after it. After a certain point it has diminishing happiness returns (if you earn a six figure salary in dollars/euros/pounds) you have reached that level already. You should feel lucky and enjoy other things like your hobbies. People who make very less money don't have the luxury to enjoy their hobbies. Realize how lucky you are and it will change the way you view life and money.
Re: Ask HN: How to stop my greed for money?
#29I get what you are going through. I overbuy products when I find something that I like because I get anxious that I won't be able to find it again. I have stockpiles that irritate my wife and take up space.
Do you have a wife and kids to support, by chance?
If yes -> is this effecting them?
If no -> have you fallen on hard times before? Or has a family member and you were not able to help them out?
Money is far from one of my concerns in life. For me, I meditate, I read books, I enjoy friends, I enjoy making pour-overs, I enjoy walks, etc.
Maybe you just need to slow down a bit? While slowing down take a look at the things you enjoy and try to make a plan to enjoy them more.
The thing about money is that when you have it you want more, you won't ever have enough.
Have you watched "The Big Short"? Perhaps do and realize that as people make money others tend to lose money, jobs, houses, etc. From the movie for every 1% unemployment goes up, 40,000 people die.
Re: Ask HN: How to stop my greed for money?
#30You know, what is interesting in all the responses I see here is how few people admit to feeling the same way. So I'll say it - I am also greedy. I also have to work on it. It's ok. More than anything, if you are aware of it you will work on it, and working on it will make you a better person.