Let's talk about ***** baby
I was thinking today about how much I have talked about various financial aspects of Steem yet, I don't really talk directly about money itself. This is a good thing in my opinion as the more we break away from the centralized versions, the better. But, there is another reason I don't use the word money very often as something inside tells me that it is not socially acceptable to talk about money.
This is an interesting conflict considering the platform's core component is earning and, the wallets are transparent making holdings known. The next weird thing is that I am becoming increasingly comfortable talking about it and, I think that it is a healthy thing and people should talk more about it.
I grew up in a family with one working parent and even though we never went without food, I know that it was quite a struggle. When it came to talking about money, it was always from a lack of and a scarcity mindset. It is these kinds of circumstances that set children up with the mentalities that will affect and be carried with them for lifetimes. Habits that are very hard to break.
We were also somewhat of a role model family also, and I don't mean because we were special but, we were the only real foreign background family in a small town where my father was the head of the art department as the local high school. This meant that there was always the feeling of scrutinizing eyes on us whether this was actually the case or not, it seemed that way. This likely impacted on the public personas we were taught to uphold. Speaking of money publicly was not something that we did. Nor the lack of it.
As said though, I think it is healthier for me now to speak of money in various ways as it allows me to learn from others and in some cases, help others too. It makes me aware of many of the dangers and opportunities and gives me a better understandings of the systems and things that influence them. I think it is similar to sex education where some parents think it leads to teenage pregnancies when it tends to significantly reduce them. Speaking about money may increase the ability to earn it. Of course, it will depend on how and what the conversation is about.
In the year that I have been here I have learned a great deal more about money, fiat, governments, interests, taxes, markets, supply and demand and all of the interconnecting and breaking points between them. And, I did a business degree at university. What a waste that was.
When it comes it money, we have placed ourselves in a bubble where to talk about it is a taboo topic. This is some kind of social censorship that means that the people who often need to know the most about the topic, aren't allowed to speak or ask about it out of fear of breaking convention. Yet, it is one of the topics that polarizes people both in conversation and in the practical sense of holding value.
It is kind of like the small talk rule stating, no politics or religion which is bloody stupid not to talk about considering they are both areas that lead to a lot of conflict and violence. Perhaps if people spoke more about their beliefs and positions, more would actually come to understand and respect each other.
Money is much the same and if people got comfortable speaking about it more, a lot of the issues, fallacies and opportunities could be brought into the light, investigated and get understood. I think that this unwillingness to speak about it is one of the things holding people back from being empowered by value rather than be controlled by it. I think that this has such a massive limiting factor on it that I would wonder if the social convention to not talk about it is an engineered control mechanism.
It is not that everyone needs to broadcast their yearly earnings to everyone but in a general sense, the conversations surrounding money that I have had over the last year or so have been the most helpful Iessons I have learned. As I have mentioned before, the more you learn, the more you earn and I think this is especially true when we learn about and have the vocabulary for financial wealth creation and management. This is true for just about anything one wants to become proficient at of course, learning about it helps.
As base as some people might find it and others believe it takes out the social feeling, I feel that it adds to the social aspect of Steem to talk about money as it removes one of the last bastions of self-censorship. When we can talk openly and frankly about topics that were once considered taboo, we can say that free speech is actually increasing. It is when we feel we cannot talk about something we are being oppressed.
Steem and other decentralized networks similar are going to speed the increase of conversations we have to have and will spill out into the streets where the average person is still trapped and restricted. It is similar to many believing that if only the governments were better, there would be no problems without realizing it is being governed that is the problem itself. They will continue to fight and argue yet no matter who they elect, the only thing that changes is the color of the shackles.
I have always been more of a free thinker but I am now pushing my own envelope on becoming a free speaker also and it wasn't like I wasn't speaking earlier however, I know I was avoiding certain topics and terms. Money being one of them. I am trying to pay attention to what I am trying to avoid as I know from experience it is usually an indicator of something I need to learn.
Don't misunderstand, I am no expert and I struggle heavily still with the habits, debt cycles and scarcity mentalities I have learned and supported my whole life but, I am trying to improve my understanding and as a symptom, my position so perhaps when my own daughter is of an age she can understand some of these things, I can not only speak openly about it but pehaps with the words of experience and change that will help her not to fall into the same holes I have.
There are plenty more unexplored places for our children to screw up for themselves, they don¨t have to make the same mistakes as us. However, to get the opportunity to fall into new holes, they need to navigate the minefields of what we have already walked.
Look at the world currently. It is a pretty good map of what not to do.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
I grew up half of my life without food , just a roof and one day that roof was taken as well. I know struggle, I know what it is to have a father who hides from you because he can’t feed his kids . I can talk about money because I have never had “enough” . Steemit has enabled me to change my life and my sons . My dad works now and we have food on the table , a roof over our head and we are in USA now . Land of opportunity? That goes to say, I don’t ever wanna settle for less. I don’t want my 9 month old son to see the days I did , I want to create a better future
I think this is the goal of every parent no matter the financial position. For me, I am trying to do all I can now so I won't have to feel I want to hide from my daughter. I won't hide, even if I feel like it though.
Work for a better life until death take me.
Agreed , and exactly how I feel
I'm so glad things are looking better for you. After my dad died my mom and I had it rough to and I wish there people around that was willing to help us plan our finances better. Good on you
Calculate your net worth and grow it! :)
2008 and the aftermath really woke many observers up to how much of a rotten shell game the entire economic system is. It's pathetic that 10 years later we still live in the depths of a corrupt system. Seems like the moderately well off don't want to rock the boat because they're doing better than most, and those with serious troubles are so deep in their own personal issues they can't ponder the larger picture. With all the sound and fury in the media, the only way to think straight is to create your own information channels and thought space.
Peace
2008, dot com crash, 1990... how many do I need to see?
No Steem crash at least! 😉
I've always found it strange how people refuse to talk about money. As you said, it's a taboo subject, although I don't see why.
You know, thinking about it, you always shy away from saying how much you made or how much you spent on something. Because there's always some sort of implied judgement. I'm not going to say I made X sum or spent it, because maybe to you, that sum is a lot and you might feel uncomfortable and I wouldn't want you to feel bad about it...
There's always this idea that we're judging others based on their view of money (of how much is a lot, how little is too little etc). Strange. Maybe it's because we do make that judgement.
Probably because of most of history humans haven't lived in abundance. So whenever someone finally got something if you talked about it there was a big chance someone might take it away from you. I really love how Steemit have it transparent and that people aren't going crazy in jealousy over it. That shows majority of humans are kind and loving and not crazy.
It's also been a Taboo subject since just a few lucky people has had access to it. Now when it's starting to become more abundant and more have it people can finally start to relax a little bit and start having some discussions about it. The Internet will surely help with that since we can put stuff out there and then we can see how people react without being in the same room as them. This means we can experiment a lot, test the waters and see what happens.
Hi Taraz. Money was never really important to me as we have always had enough to get by. basically a middle class scenario. Now however with the huge inflation and the local currency losing value against other currencies around the world money has become more important. Never really talk about it as it is not a brag fest. The one thing I will do differently to my parents and their parents is that when I am no longer here there will be a stash. Doesn't have to be massive but enough to make a difference. To make their lives a little easier. If every generation had been able to achieve this our lives would be a lot different today.
I have seen the properties that my family at what time had owned and somewhere along the line had lost or sold. i am not going to let that happen as our children will need every leg up we can give them. Maybe my Steemit account will get passed on to one of my children. Who knows.
I am hoping that this kind of thing is viable in the future.
I think there is a certain amount of broadcasting in cryptoland but I also think there are plenty of health ways to talk about money. As said, if people really discussed politics they will realise all are full of shit and elect no one.
They have actually, but numerous inheritances have been stolen through the manipulation of credit and inflation itself.
I have just posted a post about stability a min or two ago. This obviously is better in expression than mine but it is interesting because I was being grateful for what this site has contributed. Money is meant to better but not learning how to live or deal with life without having it is unwise. I grew up without money but we had a roof over our heads. That was stability and still is stability to me. Having shelter. The money I can do with little or without...
After all, it's all I have known my entire life.
It is interesting how the world works when it comes to amounts. As much as one world currency is nonsense, it is also nonsense that the bare minimum needed for a month in one country is a years good salary in another.
Yes, it is. I was speaking to a pal in general chat once then we found ourselves discussing cash flow... Turns out that how much I think is enough for a month in my house is her one week upkeep. I couldn't help but smile when she explained how sorry she was (even for asking, lol) and has supported me ever since! :)
Money is something that we need to discuss with our kids .
I did not understand money until , well not long ago , Money is a tool and needs to be treated as such . It's a tool that can reproduce itself . I was taught to go out and work . spend the money that your earned and make more money . our whole generation was taught this.
We should have been taught how to make money work for us . Even the small amount could have developed into something . My grandchildren will be better off then my son's who are better off then I . cycle has to start somewhere .
I think you ought to read Ben Franklin's A Modest Proposal because it might really interest you since it begins on the same thought you're on here, and since you have a sense of money to begin with you might actually get behind what he's saying.
I find myself remarking that without financial freedom, freedom doesn't mean anything and you cannot have financial freedom without a good understanding of what money is and isn't as freedom comes with responsibility and if the foundation of that is built on blind faith in the Bankers and not on understanding we will get a rude awakening to exactly how bound we are to the bankers.
Understanding the freedom of the individual and the responsibility to a community are two of the most valuable areas I have been learning/thinking about here. It is not that I didn't before but interacting here forces various considerations based on a clearer view of things tat are often hidden away from the public.
People have been devolved for hundreds of years now so that all our inheritance and knowledge has been robbed from us, it makes sense if you read what I referenced because the thoughts are of a level of sharpness that hardly appear in our so called intellectuals, granted Benjamin Franklin was a genius in his own time, he would make Elon look like a nincompoop.
I agree with the sex education comparison, education as talking about a subject makes the difference. Let's hope people don't ignore the information they could receive in favor of the short-term satisfaction, that happens sometimes.
hello friend @tarazkp, I am new to the community and I follow you, what you say has a lot of reality, but in my particular case I am sure that in my country, Venezuela, unfortunately if we touch that type of topics we would put ourselves in promotion, and that nobody is a secret that the Venezuelan economy is very difficult, and that talking about this issue is inviting crime, and I am very embarrassed, but it is the reality here