What exactly is wealth? That answer may vary depending on who you ask. According to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, wealth is a noun and has a few definitions. These definitions include:
abundance of valuable material possessions or resources
abundant supply : PROFUSION
all property that has a money value or an exchangeable value
all material objects that have economic utility
especially : the stock of useful goods having economic value in existence at any one time
Obsolete: WEAL, WELFARE
To most people wealth is only about monetary or financial collateral. It’s about property, money, and designer attire and fragrances. To a lot of individuals wealth is all about being rich and flaunting your possessions. Some people also break wealth down into categories. These categories include:
Financial (money)
Social (relationships)
Physical (health)
Mental (health, spirituality)
Time (freedom)
For some wealth is about having an abundance of other things that do not necessarily relate to being rich. If you ask someone who is homeless what wealth may look like to them one might say something along the lines of having a hot meal or being able to shower.
For me wealth comes in a variety of things that some people may actually take for granted. Some of these would include having central heating and cooling, reliable transportation (not a fancy car just reliable), and having toilet tissue. If you grew up in the deep country in the late 80 to early 90’s you may understand that last one. If not, the epidemic of Covid 19 may have made that a realization for you. For some, wealth is a lot more than financial gain. Another aspect that brings me wealth is having my almost daily Wealth to me is… conversations with my big cousin Letecia who is the owner of Envision Coaching and Consultation LLC. We have our talks of What wealth is to us and we write them in our journals. Most of the things that bring us wealth are actually a lot of things that we are grateful to have in our daily lives. When you look at the 5 categories of wealth I desire wealth in all 5 but the most important for me would be Mental and Time.
So you see depending on who you ask, their current situation, and the way they think the answer to what wealth is will always be different.
I wanted to jump start this month with getting you all to think about exactly what wealth means to you. This way you can start to practice gratitude a little more. This will also help you to look at your goals with more intent and purpose.
So I want you to really think about what wealth looks like to you. Write it down in a journal. Get you a partner and have wealth to me talks at least once a week. Continue to fill your journal up with what wealth is to you. This will help change your outlook on wealth and gratitude.
Share with me your thoughts on wealth in the comments. Share with us if you also look at wealth in terms of categories and which one do you favor.
“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.- Henry David Thoreau