28
Jun
Uang itu memudahkan hidup kita. Banyak hal yang bisa kita lakukan dengan uang. Dengan uang kita bisa membeli makanan enak, pakaian yang bagus, rumah yang nyaman kita tinggali, atau kendaraan keluaran terbaru yang membuat orang berdecak kagum saat kita naiki.
Itulah alasan banyak orang bekerja pergi pagi pulang malam setiap hari: untuk mendapatkan uang. Karena dengannya, hidup sepertinya akan jauh lebih bahagia. Setidaknya, itulah jawaban dari ribuan orang yang saya tanya di lebih dari seratus kelas pelatihan Move On: Seni Meraih Sukses dan Hidup Bahagia. Tapi benarkah demikian?
Ingat gaji pertama Anda? Saat penghasilan kita 3 juta sebulan, kita merasa 3 juta tidak cukup. Kita ingin naik jadi 5 juta. Dan sepertinya 5 juta cukup buat kita. Saat penghasilan kita mencapai 5 juta, ternyata 5 juta tidak cukup juga dan kita ingin punya penghasilan 10 juta. Saat penghasilan kita sampai di angka 10 juta, ternyata tak cukup juga. Aneh memang. Cukupkah saat penghasilan kita 20 juta sebulan? Tidak. Percayalah, tidak akan pernah cukup berapapun angka penghasilan kita.
Itulah fenomena hedonic treadmill. Di atas treadmill, meskipun berlari kita tak berpindah tempat. Kecepatan kita tambah dan kita pun berlari lebih cepat, tapi posisi kita tak berpindah tempat.
Orang-orang yang orientasi hidupnya pada uang akan mengalami hedonic treadmill. Penghasilan mungkin bertambah, tapi tingkat kebahagiaannya tidak. Kalau mimpi-mimpi kita bermuara pada uang, hidup akan sangat melelahkan. Kalau kepuasan kita pada uang, kita tak akan pernah puas. Uang tak akan pernah memuaskan kita.
Sekelompok peneliti dari University of Basel Swiss telah membuktikan bahwa besarnya penghasilan tak membuat kita merasa puas. Riset yang dimuat dalam Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization ini melibatkan 33.500 responden. Para responden ini melaporkan bahwa mereka hanya sebentar menikmati kenaikan penghasilannya dan kemudian merasa penghasilan baru itu biasa saja dan menginginkan penghasilan lebih tinggi lagi.
Profesor Michael Norton dari Harvard Business School menemukan hasil serupa dalam risetnya. Ia mengajukan pertanyaan kepada 2.000 orang dengan kekayaan minimal 1 juta USD. Profesor Norton menemukan bahwa orang-orang kaya menginginkan harta mereka 2-3 kali lipat lebih banyak dari yang mereka miliki sekarang.
Saya jadi teringat dengan perkataan Nabi Muhammad SAW: “Seandainya seorang anak Adam memiliki satu lembah emas, tentu ia menginginkan dua lembah lainnya.” (HR Bukhari & Muslim)
Jadi, mari ubah fokus orientasi hidup kita. Mari ganti obsesi hidup kita. Jangan jadikan uang sebagai fokus hidup kita. Jangan jadikan uang obsesi terbesar kita. Uang itu hanya akibat dari pekerjaan kita, maka jangan jadikan ia sebagai sebab.
Mari bekerja dengan kualitas terbaik kita, jangan karena uang di belakangnya. Uang itu akibat. Bekerja saja. Nanti uang akan mendatangi kita. Dan saat ia mendatangi kita, tak usah senang berlebihan. Biasa saja. Biarkan ia mengisi rekening kita. Hanya rekening kita, jangan sampai ia mengisi hati kita. Agar kita tak berat saat perlu melepaskannya pergi.
Seperti Sulaiman a-Rajhi. Kekayaannya 7,7 milyar USD. Ia orang terkaya ke-120 dunia. Pemilik bank syariah terbesar di dunia. Tapi kekayaannya tak menggoda hatinya. Ia hidup biasa saja. Pakaiannya hanya jubah putih sederhana. Pergi hanya dengan pesawat kelas ekonomi. Ia sangat sibuk, tapi selalu datang paling awal di masjid. Muadzin bahkan sering kalah cepat dengannya. Infaq dan wakafnya tersebar di seluruh dunia.
Uang tak berhasil menggaet hati Sulaiman. Ia bahkan telah membagikan seluruh hartanya untuk kerabat, ahli waris, dan fakir miskin. Seluruhnya. Sulaiman sendiri memilih hidup sederhana. Bisnisnya ia serahkan ke profesional. Dan seluruh keuntungan bisnisnya ia sumbangkan untuk kepentingan sosial.
Jadi, mari bekerja dengan kualitas terbaik kita. Lalu pulang dan berdoalah seperti doanya Umar bin Khattab, “Ya Allah, jadikanlah dunia dalam genggaman kami. Jangan jadikan dunia dalam hati kami.” END
Tulisan ini merupakan versi tertulis dari materi pelatihan saya yang berjudul Move On: Seni Meraih Sukses dan Hidup Bahagia, dibuat menjadi tulisan berseri agar bisa dinikmati lebih banyak orang. Jika tertarik mengikuti pelatihan ini, silakan kontak IMZ Consulting di 021-7418607 / 0852.1564.6958 atau training@imz.or.id
Inspirasi Melintas Zaman (IMZ Consulting) merupakan lembaga social enterprise yang membantu organisasi profit dan nirlaba di bidang leadership, pengembangan SDM dan pemberdayaan masyarakat berbasis nilai-nilai spiritual.
The money makes our lives easier. Many things we can do with money. With money we can buy good food, good clothes, a comfortable home we live in, or the latest release vehicles that make people chuckle when we ride.
That is the reason many people work going home late at night every day: to get money. Because with him, life seems to be much happier. At least, that’s the answer from the thousands of people I asked in more than one hundred Move On training classes: The Art of Success and Happy Life. But is that right?
Remember your first salary? When we earn 3 million a month, we feel that 3 million is not enough. We want to increase to 5 million. And it seems like 5 million is enough for us. When our income reaches 5 million, it turns out that 5 million is not enough and we want to have an income of 10 million. When our income reached 10 million, it was not enough. Weird indeed. Is it enough when we earn 20 million a month? Not. Believe me, there will never be enough of our income figures.
That is the phenomenon of hedonic treadmills. On the treadmill, even though we do not move to run. Our speed increases and we run faster, but our position does not change places.
People who focus their lives on money will experience a hedonic treadmill. Income might increase, but the level of happiness is not. If our dreams lead to money, life will be very tiring. If our satisfaction with money, we will never be satisfied. Money will never satisfy us.
A group of researchers from the University of Basel Switzerland has proven that the amount of income does not make us feel satisfied. The research, published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, involved 33,500 respondents. These respondents reported that they only briefly enjoyed an increase in their income and then felt that the new income was normal and wanted even higher income.
Professor Michael Norton of Harvard Business School found similar results in his research. He asked questions to 2,000 people with a minimum fortune of 1 million USD. Professor Norton found that rich people want their assets 2-3 times more than they have now.
I was reminded of the words of the Prophet Muhammad: “If a child of Adam had one valley of gold, he would have wanted another two valleys.” (Bukhari & Muslim HR)
So, let’s change the focus of our life orientation. Let’s change our life’s obsession. Don’t make money the focus of your life. Don’t make money our biggest obsession. Money is only a result of our work, so do not make it as a cause.
Let’s work with our best quality, not because of the money behind it. The money is due. Just work. Later money will come to us. And when he comes to us, don’t be overly happy. Ordinary. Let him fill our account. Just our account, don’t let it fill our hearts. So that we are not heavy when need to let go.
Like Sulaiman a-Rajhi. His fortune is 7.7 billion USD. He is the 120th richest person in the world. The owner of the largest Islamic bank in the world. But his wealth did not tempt his heart. He lives an ordinary life. His clothes are just simple white robes. Go only with economy class aircraft. He was very busy, but always arrived early at the mosque. Muadzin often loses fast with him. Infaq and endowments are spread throughout the world.
Money failed to hook Sulaiman’s heart. He has even distributed all his wealth to relatives, heirs, and the poor. All of it. Sulaiman himself chose a simple life. He left the business to the professionals. And all the business profits he donated for social purposes.
So, let’s work with our best quality. Then go home and pray as Umar bin Khattab prayed, “O Allah, make the world in our grasp. Don’t make the world in our hearts. ” END
This article is a written version of my training material entitled Move On: The Art of Achieving Success and a Happy Life, made into a series of writings to be enjoyed by more people. If you are interested in participating in this training, please contact IMZ Consulting at 021-7418607 / 0852.1564.6958 or training@imz.or.id
Inspirasi Melintas Zaman (IMZ Consulting) is a social enterprise institution that helps profit and non-profit organizations in the fields of leadership, human resource development and community empowerment based on spiritual values.
