I am sure we all do this.
“I want to earn $10k per month”
“I want to earn $20k per month”
It’s fine if it’s an aspirational target since these are nice whole numbers to remember
But it’s not fine if it’s a vanity target, for showing off. Or even for some self importance attachment and superiority complex feeding. It’s sad.
It’s not dissimilar to chasing perfect PSLE scores, O levels, A levels, etc. so what if you have straight As when you are 16? Does it even matter when you are in University or at work? Who cares? It’s only matters to how to you proceed to the immediate next phase of your academic life. Don’t cling on to it for life and worse, don’t use it as a benchmark to compare against others even after many many years
So what if someone came from Poly ? Does that make that person automatically less talented? Wake up.
Likewise, back to salary chasing. Yes, more is good, since that allows us to live well and retire well and early even.
But don’t chase it for sake of a number to show off or internalize as you are superior, you have made it. You can be making $20k per month and still be miserable, trust me. Why?
Not everyone is equally predisposed to leadership skills, extreme high skills in their fields, and therefore there is in general a natural ceiling on how far up you can go in the corporate world. Beyond that threshold, you will have to work damn hard and sacrifice a lot to keep going up. Say you already hit $15k per month, but you want $20k. Short of pure luck, to get that level, you likely have to work extra hours, take on way more stress (due to what it takes already significantly exceeded what you typically can deliver). So what happens? Yes you may get your $20k per month, but your health is destroyed forever, your relationships are damaged beyond repair. So you end up miserable but you try to console yourself by looking at your payslip, hoping someone will ask you about it so you can show it off and get a compliment. Compliment from who? Your colleagues? Your acquaintances? Or your family?
So, be realistic, be humble, be willing to take a balanced approach. Don’t chase beyond what you are willing to sacrifice. Think really hard before you say “this can be sacrificed”. Be true to yourself.
Also, having $20k salary per month means nothing if you don’t actively manage your finances and do investments. You could end up no better than someone earning $10k and who is very savvy.
So, before you start thinking you are some big shot earning big bucks, think again. Observe the people around you. See what real success is. What real happiness is. Don’t be a fool. Don’t be that fool who regrets when it’s too late.
The above is my own thinking and it’s something I want to remind myself not to do.
Well, I already retired so I don’t chase salary but I can still chase cashflow and that could consume me if I am not careful. I need balance too.
Now let me recall my last salary… it was $24k per month. Sibei shiok hahaha. But I wasn’t happy. Because I felt trapped in work. I no longer can stand the routines and lack of freedom. So you can see, high salary don’t guarantee happiness. For sure I won’t starve and I am grateful but it’s deep happiness I am talking about. If I am earning below living sustenance, it will be a totally different perspective. But you have to understand that beyond a certain income level, unhappiness can seep in. It’s not hypocrisy, it’s reality.
From my personal experience, after my income exceeded double of my expenses and commits, any amount above it doesn’t feel different to me. It meant I could splurge more but after a while, I don’t splurge. As i age, i lose interest in material things. What’s good was it allowed me to accumulate so i could retire early. I am grateful for that and I am glad I didn’t inflate my lifestyle non stop.
Now I can chase happiness. I was already chasing but now I am 100% on it 🤣
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