Mindful Lifestyle – Page 2

Is your hard-earned money protected well? We often think about how to earn more money. Only a few of us safeguard them properly. More than the avenues of finding money, there are avenues of destruction. If we keep open the outlets of a water tank, it will soon drain out. Likewise, unsecured assets can be exhausted in no time. Let us discuss how to safeguard money while consuming them without forgoing your necessities. How can you lose your money? According to Buddhist texts, there are 4 avenues by which money can be destructed. 1. Indulgence in sense pleasure 2. Drunkenness 3. Gambling 4. Bad companionship Let’s discuss each avenue in depth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-6xaj6iRAQ Why is it bad to indulge in sense pleasure? The meaning of debauchery is extreme indulgence in bodily pleasures. When a person involves in extreme and frequent levels of bodily pleasures, he/she will spend a lot of time and money on finding new possibilities to get that pleasure continuously. For example, if a person is addicted to tasty food, he will always be looking for places to eat different types of food. Also, an individual who is indulged in sexual intimacy at extreme levels might go beyond the intimacy of his/her partner, risking the union between them. Thus, any extreme levels of pleasure that require you to spend money are not healthy for your budget. Why drunkenness is bad for you? According to World Health Organization data, alcohol consumption contributes to 3 million deaths each year globally. Alcohol is often used as an icebreaker in most social events. Addiction to drugs and alcohol stimulates a person to consume them frequently. The more alcohol a person uses, the more he gets addicted. Consequently, it will contribute to many adverse consequences such as; bad reputation, loss of money, health issues, etc. What gambling does to your life? Gambling seems to be a shortcut for earning money. When a person wins for the first time, he gets the courage to bet more money. When he loses, he has to give back everything he has won. Still, a gambler never gives up. The loss of money is inevitable in gambling. Even if your family is doing well, gambling can end you up in a huge financial debt. It leads to relationship issues with your family members. Sometimes other family members are forced to leave the gambler alone in case he cannot change the addiction. Some employees end up in jail for embezzling money from their employers for gambling. Gambling can bring disastrous consequences in life. Who are bad friends? Friends play an important part in our lives. We trust them and share our lives with them. Whether a friend is good or bad can be identified only with his/her words and deeds. If your friend invites you for a drink, goes for gambling, or encourages any unethical behavior, it is an indication of a toxic friendship. Bad company can ruin all your wealth. Also, if you associate with bad friends, your reputation will be tarnished. Thus, you have to be extremely careful about whom you associate with. Remember, it is better to be alone than to be in bad company. How to safeguard wealth? You can safeguard the hard-earned money when you close all the above-mentioned avenues of wealth destruction. Debauchery, drunkenness, and gambling are addictions. If you make a sincere effort, you can get rid of those addictions. · Understanding and accepting: If you would like to get rid of any addiction or bad habit, the first step is to understand and accept there is an issue with you. · Think about repercussions: The next step is to think about the repercussions of those addictions. You can think about how the compulsions affect your family, social status, employment as well as your economy. · Discuss with family or a trustworthy person: Sometimes, we need our family members to pitch in. Discuss openly your addictions with your family or friends. They will help you get back to a better person. · Seek professional help: If the compulsion is very strong and you cannot handle the situation on your own, consider getting professional help. There are plenty of associations free of charge that help you coming out of the addictions. · Identify the triggers and avoid them: It is equally important to identify what makes you engage in drinking, gambling, or debauchery. Avoid the triggers as much as possible until you completely recover from the addiction. · Make a strong determination to quit Your willpower is the key to quit addictions. Make a strong determination to stop drinking or gambling. Or any other addiction you have. If you have friends who encourage those habits, it is time to quit them too. · Volunteer often To compensate for the addiction, you need an alternate too. Consider volunteering which makes you more sensitive to the problems of others. Also, it helps you cultivating compassion in your mind. When positive thoughts generate in the mind often, compulsions cannot exist. · Practice self-care: We do not allocate time to be with ourselves. Bad habits and negative emotions go hand in hand and you need to address those issues immediately. Take time to go for a walk, practice loving-kindness meditation, doing yoga, or do any other activity that you like to do. For more details, read · Have a good company of friends: Friends are more than what we think. They make a huge impact on our lives. Carefully select your friends who encourage and support you in good deeds. For example, consider going for a meditation retreat where you can meet with people who are trying to make their lives better. If we carefully live our lives with strong determination, we can reach financial prosperity. For more details, read Why is it important to associate with spiritual people? Final thoughts Finally, it is not easy to earn money. We have to spend the best years in our lives to do so. Once you get that hard-earned money, you need to take good care of them. Then only you can face unknown circumstances successfully. Photo by Visual Stories || Micheile on Unsplash