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[NF] NFs: is 'money' really secondary to you?

is money (& money-success) often a secondary thing for you NFs?

  • yes!

    Votes: 38 64.4%
  • well, not really..i do still think a lot about money.

    Votes: 19 32.2%
  • heck no! money (& money-success) is most primary thing for me!

    Votes: 2 3.4%

  • Total voters
    59

Anja

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May 2, 2008
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2,967
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Money is very much secondary to me. I don't even care to use it. I try to barter with people as much as possible and have designed my life as best I can to not to have to deal with money.

That may be because I have had to worry very little about my material needs. Not sure. There have been times when we've been scraping by and I can't remember focussing on the small amount of money we had.

It's a necessary nuisance to me.
 

eclare

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Jan 6, 2009
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139
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INFJ
yeah, i do agree with what most of you said, that money should only be used as a 'tool'/means, not an end/goal.
but alas! have you guys ever seen or observed the irony: most money-making jobs are usually:
1. very 'corporate' & 'constrained' culture/atmosphere
2. require damn long hours , even work overtime & sleepless nights (!)


I don't know,..but seriously, can you guys honestly stand it, if you were put in high money-making jobs with those two characteristics above?... or rather live 'enough' or even on the edge of poverty, just to avoid those two factors?

It's about moderation and balance. Sometimes you have to sacrifice one or the other, but often you find a happy medium. It's also important to set your own boundaries and not get too caught up in other people's expectations. Just because you work a corporate job doesn't necessarily mean 80 hour weeks every week. Learn to tell people "no" on occassion and you'll find life opens up all sorts of possibilities. Maybe you'll never make it to the top with that attitude, but you'll be happier in the long run.
 

Moiety

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Aug 3, 2008
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Absolutely. Money is secondary. I wish my life could be planned around such an "easy" goal. If being rich really meant something, life would be so much easier.

I'd kill myself before chaining myself to a job that made me feel miserable even if it awarded my a lot of 0s, for example.

Notice how I'm not even tapping into matters of love and social realization.
 

runvardh

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I'm fine with my 8 hours every 5 days as long as I get my days off and my other 16 on the weekdays to myself. Play the machine, don't let it play you! :D
 

Clover

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Jan 31, 2008
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Don't get me wrong, I don't want to end up living and barely making ends meet, but money isn't really on my mind when I am thinking about what career I want to pursue. Money is a hindrance to me, I wish I could live without it.
 

AfterHours

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I'd love to live away from society and it's abstractions. Other animals don't have to worry about things like money; they're happy.
 

Clownmaster

EvanTheClown (ETC)
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money can't make you happy
but having money while you're happy sure does increase the happiness.

if i didn't think about money or have it as a primary concern, i wouldn't be spending it to go to college. i'm not just taking classes for my own personal gratitude and benefit, this is done with a purpose, so if you were wondering who is the one person who voted Yes, now you know.
 

wolfmaiden14

*ears perk up*
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Messages
590
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Infx
Very secondary to happiness.

Though, sadly, happiness currently means making the family happy, which includes getting a well paid professional job.

I get through reminding myself that it's just a stepping stone to counseling, and that once I'm done with school (or at least moved out) I can do what really means something to me outside of work. :3
 

heart

heart on fire
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May 19, 2007
Messages
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I like to eat and I like to buy books so I can't say money means nothing to me.
 

Kyrielle

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i want to conduct a survey here.
and it's not only money, but also talking in terms of the money-success (ie: rich), which seems to be the 'mainstream'-type of success that is encouraged by our large society forever.

is money (& money-success) a secondary thing to you?

if yes, then what would be the primary thing for you?
as for me, i would say: happiness in life.
but that's exactly why i'm conducting a survey here, to see if there's any NFs who'd prefer money (being primary) over happiness (secondary), or similarly, money over everything else, or not?

Yes.

Primary is self-fulfillment. While money is part of that (as it provides the means to discover new things that provide self-fulfillment), it is not the source of such fulfillment. It is still very important, and I do feel...uncomfortable, when I don't have a cushion to support me in case something goes wrong, but my goal is not to get rich. Just get enough to live satisfactorily.
 

placebo

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May 11, 2008
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I can't really put myself in the position to say, because I've never been in a siutation in which I've never had ANY money at all. I mean, I think I would generally like to refer back to Maslow's heirarchy of needs. First comes food & shelter, which really, requires money. That's not to say though that I couldn't be happy without money, but I just assume it'd be really really difficult, at least, being who I am now. This must be going back to the really basics, but generally, a certain amount of money probably comes first, but then at a certain point, money really doesn't matter, doesn't make so much of a difference, as much as 'happiness', or whatever it is you truly want to do in life.
 

Moiety

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I think people are regarding this question using a capitalist filter.

Survival isn't really dependent on money. That's what "The Man" wants you to think. I'm no commie (hate me you little buggers :devil:) but those are the facts.
 

placebo

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I think people are regarding this question using a capitalist filter.

Survival isn't really dependent on money. That's what "The Man" wants you to think. I'm no commie (hate me you little buggers :devil:) but those are the facts.

But we live within capitalist nations, so why wouldn't it make sense to look at it like that? Of course we probably could survive without money, but I can't imagine it being all that easy if you're starving and wandering the streets, cold and dirty, because you're basically penniless.

I suppose we could look at people living in some African countries where they live on a dollar a day, and of course you could find true happiness there, where money and material things can't really be thought about because they're just trying to survive day by day, but we can't think in that perspective because we don't live in that perspective. The question, 'is money primary to you' would probably be irrelevant.

What I'm really sensing here is that the OP is implying that money/success and happiness are almost exclusive to each other. Money and happiness aren't related. You can have lots of money and be happy. You can not have lots of money and be happy. You can have lots of money and be sad. You can not have lots of money and be sad.

I mean this is kiiiinda not making sense to me.

If it's just about surviving, chase whatever you think you need to survive. If you think it's money, go for money. If you think it's 'happiness', go for whatever you think will make you happy.
 

Moiety

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But we live within capitalist nations, so why wouldn't it make sense to look at it like that?


Because there's more to life than "society". Some people go the "hermit in the woods" way. Some people are almost exclusively dependent on agriculture.

Anyway, the question was if money is really secondary, not unnecessary.
 

placebo

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Because there's more to life than "society". Some people go the "hermit in the woods" way. Some people are almost exclusively dependent on agriculture.

Anyway, the question was if money is really secondary, not unnecessary.


I didn't really think of equating money with society exactly. But I think I see your point. But really now, that doesn't even matter in my head anymore because I like your last point even better.

I think I would now say, no, money isn't primary--survival is. What ever survival equals, leads to what is secondary--probably happiness. But I think a necessitation for happiness, might require some money--but then I don't truly know, and it gets a bit complicated for me to work out.

Actually, it probably wouldn't even be happiness. It'd be something painfully NF, like 'meaning in life'.
 

Moiety

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I didn't really think of equating money with society exactly. But I think I see your point. But really now, that doesn't even matter in my head anymore because I like your last point even better.

I think I would now say, no, money isn't primary--survival is. What ever survival equals, leads to what is secondary--probably happiness. But I think a necessitation for happiness, might require some money--but then I don't truly know, and it gets a bit complicated for me to work out.

Actually, it probably wouldn't even be happiness. It'd be something painfully NF, like 'meaning in life'.

Funny you mentioned happiness as secondary when compared to survival (which makes sense). I was just thinking how in western (i.e. heavily capitalistic) society the suicide phenomenon is a lot more common (this is pure conjecture since I don't really now) than in countries were people have to live with almost no money.

It's almost as if, with money, comes "happiness > survival" whereas with less money "survival > happiness". I'd say that's a natural cultural evolution.

Obviously this is very subjective. I can't tell if the hungry families in places like Etiopia (etc) even think of happiness in the same way we do. Probably not.
 

placebo

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Funny you mentioned happiness as secondary when compared to survival (which makes sense). I was just thinking how in western (i.e. heavily capitalistic) society the suicide phenomenon is a lot more common (this is pure conjecture since I don't really now) than in countries were people have to live with almost no money.

It's almost as if, with money, comes "happiness > survival" whereas with less money "survival > happiness". I'd say that's a natural cultural evolution.

Obviously this is very subjective. I can't tell if the hungry families in places like Etiopia (etc) even think of happiness in the same way we do. Probably not.

Hm... yea, I don't know about world patterns of suicide behaviour and such, but just sitting around where I am and seeing all sorts of people killing themselves and dying and other self-suffering acts because of losing money, or in spite of having money, leads one to wonder about what really comes first.

Also sitting around here and sort of noticing people going on about chasing 'dreams/happiness' or 'success/wealth' and seeing those sorts of people not necessarily achieving what they set out to achieve, sometimes achieving one or the other, or both, doesn't help me to conclude that you can figure out that one is better than the other. Sometimes you don't even seem to have a choice in what you choose.

So it just seems you're meant to do what works best for you to do what seems most precious--being alive.
 

Anja

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Yeah, that word "happy?" I'd toss it out. It's a pretty unrealistic goal considering, hangnails and stuff like that. Heh. It comes in pretty short bursts to be a reasonable life's goal.

But "living well?" That one I could use. And that means having enough of the material things, psychological things, spiritual things to have satisfaction.
 

runvardh

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I like to eat and I like to buy books so I can't say money means nothing to me.

Exactly, sometimes I wonder if people realize what keeps the internet connected, even.
 

runvardh

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Yeah, that word "happy?" I'd toss it out. It's a pretty unrealistic goal considering, hangnails and stuff like that. Heh. It comes in pretty short bursts to be a reasonable life's goal.

But "living well?" That one I could use. And that means having enough of the material things, psychological things, spiritual things to have satisfaction.

See, this is why the more experienced have a place and a role in society.

+1
 
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