The Road to Happiness Isn’t Paved in Gold or Bitcoin
Orignally published in the May/June 2023 issue of Wake Living Magazine.
How do you define success? Is it financial or is it much broader than that? Coastal Federal Credit Union is firmly in the camp believing success and fulfillment don’t just come from money or even financial security. Life is meant to be lived fully and this involves, for many of us, a connection to the arts. Some might even call them the finer things in life.
Our lives are busy, filled with work and obligations. Often, art and music don’t get the space they deserve. It’s truly a luxury to be able to allot time to the things you love, things that bring you fulfillment, make you feel like yourself, and expand your connection to your friends, family, and community.
If you’re familiar with the “hierarchy of needs” pyramid, then you understand that taking care of basic necessities like food, safety, and employment lead to richer life experiences.
Art and music have a place in multiple levels in our hierarchy of needs. Whether you see the arts as part of your sense of connection or a path to the best possible version of yourself, physiological and safety needs must be fulfilled first.
That’s exactly what a balanced budget and good financial plan can give you: the time and space for richer life experiences because you have the confidence that you’ve secured your foundational needs. Working towards financial security at the bottom of that pyramid provides freedom for every other level, be it something you want to achieve with your friends and family or alone.
When you think of music do you think of concerts, having time to sit down and strum that guitar gathering dust, taking lessons to learn to play an instrument for the first time, visiting the record store and filling your house with the sound of vinyl, or dancing bachata at your favorite downtown spot?
When you think of art do you think of painting a mural in your house, learning to throw pottery on a wheel, building your own furniture, making jewelry, visiting a museum to see famous paintings and sculptures, or hanging your kid’s finger painting on the fridge?
No matter how you define ‘art and music’ or what you imagine when you hear those words, you lose the ability to dedicate time to these pursuits when stressing over bills, home repair needs, retirement planning, credit card debt, etc.
Credit unions, unlike big banks, care about the quality of life of employees, members, and communities. Part of being a good neighbor is aiding in the connection between financial freedom and the pursuit of creativity and expression. Forgoing the stress that can come from debt, an unsure future, and a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle can create the space for you, your family, and your community to dive into culture in a new way. A great financial partner can help you get there.
A British Psychological Study found participation in creative pursuits saw an increase in positive emotions and health benefits for people. Similarly, Drexel University saw that even super simple creative activities, such as doodling, gave pleasure pathways in the brain a boost and led participants to explore even more creativity. The science says it; the arts can bring people joy.
Life isn’t black and white, but at the end of the day, these things seem quite evident:
- Financial stress is contradictory to happiness.
- Creativity, art, music, expression etc. are all pathways to that happiness.
Maya Angelou is quoted saying, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
At Coastal Credit Union, the goal is for every employee, member, and local community to have the time, freedom, and resources to pursue creativity... more and more and more. The goal is for as many lives as possible to be unencumbered by financial stress and unhindered in every creative, joyful pursuit.