Do you have a number for what your net worth will be when you’ve made it? For when you’ll have enough or start feeling more secure? What is your number? R1 million in the bank? R100 million in investments? Or USD10 million in offshore assets?
A better question perhaps is, ‘How relevant is that number?’ Turns out, not very. Above a decent standard of living, that number has nothing to do with your security, your happiness or your worth. It probably has little correlation to either your efforts or intelligence and more to do with your privilege and luck. A growing number of studies suggest that luck and opportunity play a significant role in defining success.
Security does not come from a number. It comes from the belief that no matter what, you will be ok. A bird trusts in its wings, not the twig it rests on. The same needs to be true of us. Our security cannot be determined by a number.
Worth is not determined a number. Worth is permission, from yourself, to treat yourself with honour and to require that from others, regardless of any monetary number that can be attached to yourself.
Chasing the number prevents you from chasing what’s meaningful. It distorts what you must measure. Looking back on your life from your deathbed, will your number still matter? What will have mattered most?
Are you ready to let go of your number?