The Hint Of Unhappiness In Those Who Have Too Much

In today’s world,  many people think that a lot of their problems stem from not having more than what they have. Therefore, they devote most of their lives to acquiring something that they assume will make them happy. The problem is, since this reasoning is basically false, they never get enough to be happy. In fact, there is a hint of unhappiness in those who have too much.

Excess, whatever it may be, is experienced as a burden. And as a burden, it leads to distortions and difficulties in achieving a true quality of life. This applies to everything: the excess of food, drink, goods, beauty, success and so on.

The desire to have more and more of something is not born out of a specific lack of that good. It’s not that the alcoholic’s body lacks more alcohol, nor that the compulsive glutton needs more protein. Much less does the millionaire need the money, but that doesn’t mean that these people don’t want it anymore. In all these cases, what happens is that  the real desire is masked, and therefore it is never satisfied. 

The unhappiness of those who have too much

There is a truth that seems contradictory at first sight:  lack of material possessions gives rise to unhappiness, but having them is not the beginning of happiness. Human beings need a minimally dignified material base to constitute themselves as people, grow and evolve. If we lack this minimum, we probably start a chain of needs that lead us to injustice and lack of autonomy.

Extreme poverty does not allow access to education, health services, cultural goods. It prevents us from enjoying society’s goods on equal terms. It also generally condemns us to a precarious life and unhappiness, which revolves almost exclusively around ensuring survival.

At the other extreme are those who have too much, who theoretically should be better people, as they have achieved everything and even more than they need. Their ease of entry into education, that they can have more rewarding experiences, and the very fact that they know they are luckier than most human beings should translate into a higher degree of happiness in their lives. However, many of these people are submerged in the opposite, that is, in unhappiness.

People who have too much are often problematic, demanding, and nonconformist. They are dominated by whims. They are beset by dissatisfaction. They are selfish and superfluous, and even indifferent towards the world. They are usually cynical too. This does not apply to everyone in this situation, but it is quite common.

More is less and less is more?

In the field of personal development, money is just one instrument that is far from the most important. As mentioned above, every human being should be able to count on a minimum of conditions that allow his development and insertion into culture. However, beyond that, what ends up defining the success or failure of a person who was born in conditions of poverty is his capacity to take on difficulties in a creative way.

For those who have too much, the subject is neither difficult nor exciting. They are hardly exposed to extreme situations, in which being must prevail before having. Many people with money raise their children on the edge of austerity. Still, their future is relatively secure, unlike those who have nothing and struggle with uncertainty every day.

The result of all this is that,  in most cases, those who have little develop their capacity for resilience more vigorously. These people learn to deal with frustration and are able to value what they get. On the contrary, those who have too much get lost in the experience of vertigo. It’s true: they will suffer much less in many ways; but they will also be, in general, less resistant to the misfortunes of fate. There is a hint of unhappiness in all the excesses.