Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual – all parts of the whole of good health, of well-being. What do you think? Is financial health so important as to be considered a part of the whole? I have often been accused of thinking too much, becoming too analytical as I ruminate on relationships. Today, I am thinking about my relationship with money.
Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual – four parts of personal health. Positive Psychology Daily News refers to these four as energies. Other psychologists have included a Social category to arrive at five dimensions. Some cite seven components: Emotional, Environmental, Spiritual, Physical, Social, Occupational, Intellectual.
However you slice the pie, I believe it is not wise to try, nor is it possible to sever one from the other. I agree with Paul’s first century letter to a Corinthian team, “Now the body is not made up of one part but of many…If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it (verse 14a and 26, I Corinthians 12).
Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, Financial – Rather than stick with my usual four, I propose five parts of whole health and well-being.
Over the years, I have enjoyed exceptional physical health; better than average mental and spiritual stability and variable but manageable emotional health. Recently, I hit my stride physically via outdoor walks and hikes and careful attention to eating and sleeping habits. Optimum physical health has the happy effect of reawakening the mental, spiritual and emotional aspects. But, what about the financial?
I have noticed that money makes me happy and lack thereof makes me anxious and sad. Destitution wreaks havoc with my mental and emotional state as I strain my brain with the challenge of how to fix it. As long as I maintain regular walks, my physical state is the least affected. Eventually, financial stress may take its toll on the physical.
Are finances an energy? Is money one of the dimensions of my personality? Must wealth be one of the legs on which whole health stands?
How about you? Does your overall health and sense of well being hinge on financial health?
Alcides, I think you accidentally posted to this site
In our society, money provides tangible freedom. Proper management of money demonstrates responsibility to others. If these things are priorities to a person, then money health is part of overall health because it allows the mind to feel comfort, relaxation and well-being. Money is important in our society because our economy is driven by consumption. That is why we have such a high standard of living (creature comforts). Other cultures around the world that are not consumption driven are also less productive and have a lower standard of living. That’s the trade-off. To maintain overall financial health in this society requires generating the required amount of services or goods to earn enough money to have the creature comforts a person finds sufficient for their lifestyle. Some people insist on more creature comforts, so money is a higher priority. Others are content with less, so money is not as high a priority. That is why there are people living in various levels of creature comfort. Contentment is key. People usually do whatever is necessary to reach the level they desire. Perhaps a deeper question is, “What do we require in life to be happy?”
You say, “Proper management of money demonstrates responsibility to others.” I could stop right there and feel you have hit the nail on the head. Do we require the affirmation of others in order to be happy? Or, can we live at a lower standard and lower consumption and still feel accepted / respected as a person of upstanding character in our society.?
Whether a person feels acceptance & respect is in their own mind and can be the result of their own opinion of themselves. Whatever a person does or does not do will be accepted & respected by some people and not by others. There will always be opposing views of any person and any action. If a person needs the affirmation of others they will usually feel frustrated because some people will give them affirmation and others will not based on their opinion. A person will never be able to control the opinions of others. Personal acceptance & respect of ourselves comes from our own conscience. Not from others. In my opinion, character is more important than money.