"First World" Problems
Posted on July 06, 2015 by AnnMarie Colucci, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
How do we orient ourselves in a world with so much wealth and so much poverty?
Ever hear of someone referring to something as a “first world problem?” I hear it come up now when people are talking about whether they should start their own business, spend money on smoothies, or move into a bigger apartment.
The world has become much more complex than “first world” and “third world.” Classifying different parts of the world by a ranking is now mostly seen as pejorative. To think that living on $1/day necessarily makes someone unhappy is inaccurate. However, to think living on $1/day makes someone happy is also inaccurate. In today’s global society, there are people who die from obesity-related illnesses and people who die from starvation or malnourishment on the same day in the same country.
How do we orient ourselves in a world where some people have the time and energy to fan through fresh-pressed juice delivery services, and others find themselves dangerously overweight or underweight by the age of nine? How do we justify spending money on services like personal coaching, which is focused on realizing our full potential while others don’t even get to go to school?
I have encountered an increasing number of people who are able to focus on both the reality of their personal situation and the reality of the world around them. More people realize that by investing in themselves in a soulfully sustaining way, they can give more and get more from the world. To do this, people are opening themselves up to messy questions and messy topics. They are sorting through thoughts many of us suppress. Whether or not to give a homeless person money, or whether to take a job at a hedge fund that invests in fossil fuel production. These questions can get uncomfortable. But as I say to my clients, this is where our personal and communal growth lies. We don’t advance ourselves, or our families by staying in our cozy mindsets. We grow by stepping out, asking ourselves tough questions, and looking for the win-wins in life.
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