Throwing Money at a Problem
Doesn’t Always Work
Ye a r s a g o w h e n I w o r k e d i n o n e p a r t i c u l a r i n d u s t r y, w h e n e v e r
something was going wrong, my boss would always sigh and
suggest throwing money at the problem until it went away. At
work this approach often works wonders, but problems in life
tend to need a more hands-on approach, a more delicate
touch. We tend to think that if we just chuck enough money
at things they’ll get sorted out, instead of finding ways to
really sort them out that require time and attention and care.
Let’s go back to that getting older thing again. You might think
that throwing money at it in the shape of cosmetic surgery
might be the answer but it isn’t; it only delays things and can
create worse problems than it solves. How much better to
work on one’s mental approach to aging and come to terms
with it in a dignified and graceful way instead. If somebody
you care about seems distracted, tense, not themselves, then
buying them a present might well cheer them up, but the
better (and cheaper) option is to make time to take them out
for a walk and ask them about themselves, give them the
opportunity to talk.
We tend to think that if we spend more money on something,
it will solve the problem. Maybe sometimes we need an old-
fashioned approach of time and attention and finding out.
Like our grandparents, who didn’t throw things away and get a
new one when something had stopped working—they
patiently sat down and tried to sort out what it was that had
gone wrong and determine if there was a way to put it right
again. That went for relationships as well as for watches or
appliances.