Debt and Happiness

I can tell you from experience debt can keep you from enjoying the present moment. You can spend all of your time worrying about how much money you owe, how the bills are going to be paid, how long it will take to pay off the debt. All of this worry keeps you from enjoying life now. So how do we get out of debt? The answer to this question is obviously different for each person, but I’m sure we could all find ways to eliminate excess spending in our lives. For some, to include myself, I could stop buying things I don’t need just to satisfy some compulsive need to have. I’ve realized in recent years that I had a strong desire to purchase an item thinking it would satisfy some craving, make me happy, but then after purchasing the item I would just want something else. On top of this, I then worried constantly about the debt I had accumulated. It became a vicious cycle. So how do we stop worrying about debt if we are in debt? My opinion – be aware that you are in debt and take action right now – this may include cutting up a credit card or selling something you don’t need to pay down debt. Lao Tzu is credited with saying “the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. It is important you do something right now, at this present moment. It is then important to realize right now is all we have and this is where we can find happiness. Happiness, in my opinion, is not found in buying things. If you are satisfied with what you have now then you will not need to purchase what is not necessary. If you are not accumulating debt and you are taking action to pay off debt then you can focus on the present moment. I’m not suggesting all debt is bad and I’m not suggesting you should feel guilty about buying things. I’m suggesting that for many, debt causes us to worry about the future which keeps us from enjoying the present moment. Eliminate debt or at least start the process and you may find it easier to focus on right now. Some will disagree with what I have written so let me add one final point. It is not necessary for you to eliminate debt to find happiness, but for many - eliminating debt will be helpful – less time will be spent worrying about paying off debt in the future. If you spend your time right now thinking about the future then you cannot find happiness in the only place it can be found – right now.