Small Wins

I kind of like watching this show on Starhub channel 427 "Who'd Be a Billionaire". It shows you all the crazy things billionaires do to get the next kick in their lives or be another one-up in their circle. The lavishness and opulence is mind boggling.

In earlier episodes they show how billionaires descended on London buying up several units in a row of prime property in central London, tearing down everything except the exterior facade and even building a swimming pool in the basement. Some of them have specialists that help install the same entertainment system in every new home purchased by the billionaire round the world just so that the guy wouldn't have to relearn how to use the system when he drops in for a visit. The agents serving them remarked that these ultra rich have no qualms tearing down a newly installed bathroom just because the wife fancied a certain tap which caught her eyes while partying in a friend's house. One agent remarked that to these people, the house is not a Home , it is just a piece of property which they may not even visit in a year, hence there is no attachment.

The latest episode talked about how these billionaires are moving on to acquire experiences instead of material possessions like properties, art, cars, yachts etc. So they are seeking new adventures and competing to provide that talk-of-the-town exotic experience for their guests when entertaining. A party planner had to recce the best spot on a cliff with a good view out in the desert, built a stage paved with the finest carpets and lamps to recreate that Arabian Night experience whilst at the same time booking the whole of another hotel (all geared up for another party) just in case an untimely sand storm rendered it impossible to have the desert party.

However the show always remarks that the billionaires are not necessary happy because they are always chasing for the new kick and place great importance on where they stand in their circle. The show always ends with someone repeating this answer to a question as to whether billionaires are happy people " I think the super rich are happier than the super poor". In fact from an article that I read many billionaires are often depressed. They call it the psychology of success which especially befall people who suddenly became super rich like the dot com techies and those who suddenly inherit great wealth as well as those who have reached the apex of their career like the first moon walkers. Apparently it is like suddenly losing momentum that keeps one going when realising one does not have to work for lifetimes. One can then "sink into a kind of inertia" with a feeling of "a drop into an abyss".

Psychologists think that the answer to the problem is simply "progress". As long as there is some some steps forward no matter how small, it will give the person a sense of forward motion. Thus many super rich have taken a new career or start a new business or focus on philanthropy or the arts, Psychologists call these "small wins" which one can control, apparently as long as one can progress, anything at all will do. I think the same principle applies to common people too. Retirees like me would do good to look for some '"small wins".

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