Death and Taxes (and Gratitude)

Recently, as I read through one of Ryan Holiday's newsletters, a paragraph about taxes stood out. He made the point that taxes aren't reserved for just money. Instead, the way we understand our taxes on money can help us get a bigger perspective on life.

While the financial tax game can get a bit political, the basic idea with taxes is that the more you make, the more taxes you pay. Most people bemoan this reality when they find themselves paying more in taxes when, in reality, this should produce gratitude. After all, if we're in that situation our income has likely gone up enough to push us into a different bracket. It's a good problem to have.

The philosopher Seneca once wrote to his friend Lucilius, “All the things which cause complaint or dread are like the taxes of life—things from which, my dear Lucilius, you should never hope for exemption or seek escape.” 

When this concept is applied to our finances, it can appear quite a bit naive. Most wealthy people do in fact seek numerous ways to escape paying more in taxes. The older I get the more I realize how much of "adulting" is just learning the rules to the games of life (things like how to build and maximize credit and how to avoid paying more in taxes, etc.).

But consider the broader application of Seneca's idea. Holiday said it like this: "Annoying people are a tax on being outside your house. Delays are a tax on travel. Haters are a tax on having a YouTube channel."

And these work like money does too. The more time you spend outside your home the more likely you are to rub shoulders with people who annoy you. The more time you spend traveling the more travel delays you will experience. The more content you put out online the more negative feedback you'll get.

If we approached each of these like we often do with taxes on our money we would spend much of our time complaining about them and looking for ways to minimize them. 

Or, what if our response to the increase of any of these "life taxes" was gratitude?

The more I'm exposed to people who annoy me the more I'm reminded I'm alive and I live in a big world that I get to participate in. The more I'm delayed in my travels the more I'm reminded I get to experience new things that broaden my perspective and get me out of my routine. The more I get negative feedback online the more I'm reminded I'm reaching new people who don't know me but are now getting exposed to my ideas.

I submit to you that as bizarre as it might sound, a response of gratitude makes the reality of taxes better. In fact, it will make us better too.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash