From the New York Times comes an article that touches on something I have felt for many years.  While I would like to say I was ahead of the curve on this trend the real answer is simple – I was broke!

But Will It Make You Happy?

Before many of you knew me I live through a difficult period before the creation of NashvilleCyclist.  The economic and occupational adversity forced me to reshape my life in ways I would not have chosen otherwise.  Change of that magnitude was difficult to accept at first, but circumstances were not progressing and required an embrace before I could move forward. 

You are probably thinking, “It could not have been that bad.”  Oh yes it was.  Were it not for my family I am certain I would have experienced a total collapse.  My aunt provided me with a place to live, money for necessities, money to pay bills, and was an incredible source of Godly strength I desperately needed.  I am certain she is one of God’s angels on this earth.  At 80 years old she has beaten cancer twice, so anything I have lived through pales in comparison to the obstacles she has overcome.  She is the toughest person I know, and can easily outwork me to this day.  My immediate family played a huge role too, along with a couple of close friends, but my family’s biggest contributions occurred after the accident itself.  If not for my family then I can undoubtedly say I would have been homeless on the streets.  I am not sugar coating the situation.  Add to that, a bad training accident resulting in a severely broken leg and a $70,000 medical bill.  Yes, it can always get worse.

This progression of getting knocked down and back on my feet (literally!) took place over a three year period.  I could neither afford nor was I interested in acquiring anything, and as I moved from one place to another I had to let go of many possessions.  I soon began to enjoy the freedom all this weightlessness provided.  I did not realize how much of a burden my possessions were until I no longer had them, and once they were gone I did not miss a single thing.  I did keep practical items like clothing, a car, my sleigh bed, books, a coffee maker and my bicycle.  Aside from those items everything else was either sold or given away.  Over time I embraced the freedom and joy this provided, which quite frankly surprised me.

After spending considerable time and money earning an undergrad and graduate degree I became too focused on upward mobility.  Most people who earn an MBA do so with the intent of aiming high and earning a better than average income.  It took me less than five years to let go of that expectation and see what I was truly meant to experience in life.  My freefall was necessary in order to properly set up where I am today.  An upward progression with deep financial commitments would have prevented me from accepting the job as head cycling coach at Cumberland University.  I simply would not have been able to afford it.  Prior to the cycling position I found a job allowing me to start over in a completely new way, and I soon earned promotions that included larger numbers on my pay stub.  Despite increased pay I still held back, maintained a low profile, lived below my means with the credentials to prove it, and was committed to not acquiring more “stuff.”  I knew from experience it could vanish in a moment’s notice, and I wanted no part in living through it again.

What does all this have to do with acquiring happiness?  For me, it means everything.

As the article states, our happiness depends on our relationships with others and the experiences we share with those we care about.  As we approach the gift giving season of Christmas and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ we should consider where our happiness truly comes from.  I’ll give you five minutes to try and remember what gifts you received for Christmas last year.  I’ll give you another five minutes to remember an experience with a loved one from five years ago.  Yeah, that’s what I thought.  As a man of faith I can say my relationship with the Father and the Son is my primary source of happiness, and then my faith helps to nurture relationships and share experiences with people I care about.  If I am going to cherish and relive a moment it is going to involve a human heart rather than an inanimate object.  People make me smile, objects do not.

Pray tell then, how does a bicycle play a role in our happiness?

Bicycles are expensive of course.  What separates a bicycle from other objects is it allows us the opportunity to engage others and experience life together.  A bicycle can be a conduit to happiness.  I have said this many times before and I strongly believe it, “The bicycle is merely a tool and excuse for us to come together for camaraderie and fellowship.”  When I read this article it confirmed what I intuitively knew and have been experiencing for many years.  Certainly we can become a little too selfish, too driven and consumed with bicycling from time-to-time, but what is ever present is our relationships owed to the bicycle itself.  The more time we spend with our friends on our bicycle the more happiness we enjoy in life.  As the articles states, our wealth and accumulation of stuff can interfere with our ability to experience everlasting joy.  Therefore, let us not allow stuff to blind us away from what matters most. 

The articles goes on to state the longer we think about something and plan it out in advance, work hard for it, and anticipate its arrival the more valuable it will be once you have it.  This should sound familiar if you think about the goals you set for yourself and how hard you work to achieve them.  We all know how difficult it can become when we hop from one instant gratification to another, always trying to one-up the last acquisition.  This life path ultimately leads to disappointment due to the law of diminishing returns in conjunction with an empty bank account!

I share my past struggles with you not as some badge of honor or to suggest you cannot be wealthy and happy at the same time, because of course you can.  Instead I share it as my testimony that achieving happiness can be done without surrounding yourself with lots of stuff.  Just imagine how different our lives would be if we all invested our energy and resources primarily on shared experiences with friends and loved ones.  Wow, talk about revolutionizing our lives and our economy!  Consumerism for the sole purpose of acquiring the most toys is obviously a short-sighted view of how a country prospers, and if the last two years of economic hardship tell us anything it is exactly that.

Therefore, as you shop department stores and browse online catalogs put considerable thought not only into what Christmas is truly about, but also consider investing in a more fruitful way – in experiences with those you care about and love.