A good life has nothing to do with how much money you make
Let's start by confronting the question: is it possible to have a good life without money?
I'll tell you very clearly, it's entirely possible, and a lot of good lives, successful lives, actually have little to do with making money.
Five years ago, I met a sugar painting master, using a spoon as a brush and sugar as ink, he could draw all kinds of small animals in a few moments.
It was my impression that most of these craftsmen were middle-aged people over 50, but this one was very young, less than 30, and it's rare for young people to choose to do this.
He said, you do not do, I do not do, this old craft will be lost, something always need someone to do.
Such a person may not earn much money in his life, but he has the heart to pass on such a national craft, don't you think such a life is also quite successful?
My old family had a neighbor who was an elementary school teacher in our town and taught all his life, and many of his children and parents were his students.
Now that he is retired and at home, he reads books and raises flowers every day, and he also borrows the school's classroom to run a free calligraphy class, so that on weekends, parents can send their children over to learn and bring their own ink, paper and inkstones.
His partner was a doctor at the town's hospital, and after she retired there are still many people who come to her house to see her. She does not charge for her visits, and when she diagnoses a problem, the patient goes to the pharmacy and buys the medication himself, and she gives help to her neighbors within her means.
They are in a much better financial position than the average family, with pensions, but still not at the level of affluence, not considered rich.
But one teaches and educates, and peaches and plums all over the world, and the other hangs a pot and cures the sick, such a life, don't you think it's very successful?
A relative of mine, I'll call her Third Grandma, took care of her paralyzed Third Grandpa for over thirty years until he passed away.
By farming and raising chickens, and doing some sewing for others, she raised five children, and now each has a good family, including a teacher and a businessman.
Isn't this kind of life a success?
A lot of good life, really not much to do with how much money you earn, not have to be a tycoon to be considered a success, no money can also have a bright life.
02
How to live a good life
So, how to live a good life?
First of all, it is necessary to have the cognition of "what a good life is like". Only when you know what kind of life is good first, can you live this life well.
There is an old man who pedaled a tricycle for nearly two decades and saved 350,000 dollars from his teeth to fulfill the school dreams of more than 300 poor children.
His name is Bai Fangli and he has worked as a transporter, a paint factory employee and a tricycle driver. He has never earned much money in his life, but he has touched the lives of many people.
His daughter was upset that he was out in the sun and rain all day, and he told her, "Don't worry about me, don't think about me, I'm fine, I'm living like this, I feel especially at ease.
For himself, he is full of contentment and a sense of fulfillment; for others, he is helpful and valuable to others, and his life is a success.
This is what a successful life should look like in my mind. Since the goal is clear, there is a direction for action.
I am also an ordinary person who is exploring and thinking about how to live a good life, and I would like to share a few of my insights.
Accept the reality of working hard but not getting too good results
The world is not a place where you can always earn money if you put in the hard work, and your poverty is often not due to the fact that you don't work hard enough, but rather a thin bottom line.
Many of the people on the street who drive luxury cars don't work as hard as you do, and aren't as good as you are, and probably just come from a better background than you.
But this is not a reason for you to give up on yourself, to muddle along all day, to complain about the world. One thing is for sure, it's always better to live a better life by trying harder than not trying at all.
Have a good mind, don't complain about fate and life, if you are constantly complaining, you won't have inner abundance.
Don't use other people's standards to measure your own life
Everyone has their own rhythm of life, some people are young and talented, some people are late.
The old saying goes, thirty years old, in fact, by the age of thirty, still no house, no car, no marriage, no children is not much of a failure.
Don't use other people's standards to measure your own life, as long as you yourself live through, live to understand, in accordance with their own rhythm, you will be less likely to feel confused.
You just don't have to lie to yourself!
Can accept no money, but can not accept no soul
Just now talked about the reality of hard work may not have much money, I can accept no money life, but can not accept their own no soul, no thought.
People live not only to earn money, there are a lot of meaningful things, earning money is often the lowest level of demand.
Like that young sugar painting master, he may not have much money in his life, but he has a soul. Spiritual nobility and inner abundance are far more important than material wealth.
Be a worthy person, be a good person
Whether we have money or not, we have to be a good person, a kind person, a person who is helpful to others.
Like my neighbors, that pair of old teachers and doctors, very ordinary, yet extraordinary.
Not much money, life is not rich, this is the situation of most people, but even if there is no money can still have a good life, the road depends on how you go!