How Having No Money Is The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me

I was jobless for more than a year. I was struggling to stay afloat, then I was struggling to keep my sanity and then I was struggling to survive and finally, I gave up struggling and just be. But I did it, Almost. And I am still alive and well. And in retrospect, I think having no money (Yes, I had 0 balance many times in the last 1 year) is a blessing and should I experienced this earlier, I probably would have been a much better person.

Most of my life, I was sheltered but this time around I almost had no one to turn to. Almost.
And I think I have learned and earned some very good life lessons:



1. You Don't Die And If You Die, You Die And There's Nothing Much You Can Do About It Anyway

I think this is pretty self-explanatory. So many people think if they don't have money, the worst things will happen and they will be better off dead. Honestly, it's not a nice feeling not having much to buy and spend. But buying and spending don't give much joy either. I am not much of an asset person and spend more on experiences so this was not too taxing on me.





2. You See Through People's True Colours

Most people think that others don't notice their treatment on people, where sometimes they treat people with money differently to people with no money, but I do see that. And it's completely okay for me. I don't blame anyone who does this, it's just the way the world works. But the best part is seeing those whose true colours stand out, treats me no different than as to what I was before and these are people with the hearts of gold that I will truly cherish as long as I live. Not having much means you will lose people but then again, these are the very people you don't need anyway. Biological ties, experiential ties mean nothing anymore.



3. You See True Value Of Things

Having not much, you have to prioritise your expenditure. (Actually having much requires prioritisation too or you'll end up with not much). Thus I begin to realise the more important stuff to me and the not important stuff. Food, periodically, is important ( I suffered severe gastric due to not having food for long periods of time). Internet is important. There is all sort of knowledge on the Internet to learn and earn money. Also, there's free entertainment because from time to time, a temporary distraction from the real world is important.



4. You See The True You

Not having money forces you to stay dormant as the more movement you have the more you spend. And loneliness is something you have to wrestle on a minute to minute basis. I made a truce with loneliness and I now appreciate time alone. Hell is other people. The fight to stay sane in a material world is a hell of a fight and to me, I won. Almost. I am still alive and not in a psychiatric ward.

The days and nights I spent alone with myself taught me exactly who I am, what I'm good at, what I'm not good at, weaknesses and strengths. My own belief system is now unique, nothing like those self-improvement talks you see on those motivational videos. I'm different and better than all that crap.





5. You Have No Fear

I lost my job, wives, family, friends, money, sense of pride, faith in humanity and everything that I believed in except myself. I lost everything that possibly can be lost. I have no fear. But fearless does not mean being stupid and not think of the consequences of my actions. It just means you have no fear of whatever outcomes that are coming your way. Once you’ve failed 365 times you’ll no longer fear from failing and that’s when you’ll no longer need to motivate yourself.