Mental peace is the ultimate wealth

The look of horror on his face said it all. He smiled nervously, stretched out his hand and came towards me to help me get off my seat.

My seat wasn’t really a comfortable one. It was balcony handrail of my 18th floor apartment in Singapore. My feet were firmly on a chair but my head was spinning a little. I had thrown a party for my fellow students in a NLP class. We were a bunch of strangers, bound by a common goal of wanting to work through some mental blocks and getting a breakthrough to move on with our lives.

I had just got mine. Days later, I called the movers, shipped my stuff to India and left work.

I had been stressed in my personal and work life for a while. As it usually is, I didn’t know which had led to the other. But my finance training had kicked in, reminding me that I needed to have enough money in the bank to walk away. Months earlier I had bought an apartment in Mumbai, kind of on a credit card, stretching my finances (Story for another day, if you’re interested to know). Then spent the following 6 months living on street food while also paying high rent for the fancy apartment. That night…on the balcony…I realised there was no point saving anymore.

An opportunity came along straight away. Friends advised against a gap in the CV. So I plunged right back in. Set up a business. But I hadn’t healed. Walked away again. This time, I decided, I will focus on that.

So that’s what I have been doing all these years. I write. I make videos and podcasts. I travel. But most days I read, listen to music and look after my plants.

And I feel gratitude for being alive. For having all of you as readers and audience…amazingly voting me to the LinkedIn TopVoices and PowerProfiles lists. I sincerely thank you.

But this year has been anything but normal. The ongoing pandemic and related lockdowns have caused enough physical health and economic stress for many of us. They are also causing or exacerbating mental stress for many others…or even the same of us.

So this World Mental Health day, I felt ready to share this snippet from my story… to say I have been there and here are some observations -

Work-related stress can be long-term; job loss can trigger

According to Beyond Blue, ‘research suggests that continuing difficulties – long-term unemployment, living in an abusive or uncaring relationship, long-term isolation or loneliness, prolonged work stress – are more likely to cause depression than recent life stresses. However, recent events (such as losing your job) or a combination of events can ‘trigger' depression if you’re already at risk because of previous bad experiences or personal factors.’

I was facing personal issues already - work issues made it worse.

LinkedIn’s Workplace Confidence Index shows that people are feeling stress and anxiety around job security, working long hours and balancing personal & professional lives.

People handle stress differently

We can’t generalize and assume what works for us will work for everyone.

I get all kinds of unsolicited bad advice - which I ignore.

Don’t judge someone’s story by the chapter you walked in on.

The brain is an organ…so mental health is actually physical

Some mental health issues are actually due to physiological malfunctions in the brain. These are no different to issues related to any other organ in the body. Yet, we attach stigma to mental health unlike to physical health.

The result is that we don’t seek out help soon enough.

Financial freedom gives options

Earlier in my life, my family and I didn't have the financial means to better handle stress. But in the story I shared, I had prepared to give me the financial freedom to give me options.

I have made it my life mission to educate people on this through The Money Hans initiative. We make content, we do webinars, we are preparing courses on financial wellness. Please reach out if you need help with personal finance.

In the meantime - Save, invest, keep your expectations low. Build up enough assets - and goodwill - to ensure you survive.

Mental peace is the ultimate wealth

I know many people who come from very humble backgrounds who are even more paranoid, who save more than I do. We all know of many examples of others who overstepped ethical boundaries into illegal. I can relate to wanting more wealth.

But there is a trade-off. At some point, you spend so much time on trying to build wealth that your family slips away. At some point, you spend so much time earning that you don’t have enough time to spend and enjoy. At some point, you realise that you get more joy from reading a book or listening to music or gardening than anything money can buy.

That’s the point you realise that mental peace is the ultimate wealth.