The Nothingness of Money - More to That

Ultimately, we can live our lives according to what will be written on our tombstones. And given that a dollar sign won’t be on it, it’s time we stop inscribing one onto our minds as well.

The problem is that we often fail to see the illusory nature of this story, and treat it as gospel until it’s too late. But by punctuating our days with an awareness of the Nothingness of Money, we can make choices that don’t place finances at the helm.

Wisdom is the co-existence of contradictory truths, and money is the clearest example of this. We must internalize its importance while also recognizing its pointlessness. We must operate within the story of money while also understanding that it’s a fairy tale.

By doing this regularly, you can punctuate the spikes of attention with moments of clarity, which helps to bring the heightened plateau down to a more reasonable level.

The key is to take that exact feeling and remind yourself of it whenever money hijacks your attention. That when you’re fixated on its pursuit, you can break the spell by understanding how laughable it is to be remembered for it. That in the end, it will have very little to say about the person you are.

For example, if a friend told you that he wanted “I outperformed the S&P 500” on his tombstone, your immediate reaction would be to laugh. There is no way you’d take it as anything other than a joke.

The only way to resolve this tension is to remind yourself that you are already aware of the inevitable futility of a money-centered pursuit. That what you will see as ridiculous later can actually be perceived as ridiculous now.

So even in this case, it may only be through a stark reminder of your mortality that the Nothingness of Money is understood.

Even if you do retire early, the Nothingness of Money won’t begin its descent if your habits continue onward. If you’re still checking your portfolio every time you touch your phone, you are far from understanding the pointlessness of money. If you hesitate to invest in a better diet because of the fiscal cost, you are still held hostage by the alm... See more