To Those Who Say "Invest in yourself, don't waste your money!"

Money is often compared in business books to one's investments in the future. It's said that it's best to use your money for investments in your own future, rather than waste it on unnecessary things.

Of course, this statement is backed up by various reasons and makes perfect sense. But some people might feel restricted and uncomfortable by it. For instance, when they see their parents wasting money on gambling, eating out and such, they might become frustrated or saddened. Or perhaps they want to stop a loved one from eating only sweets every day because they know it is unhealthy, but they can't really do anything about it because the person themselves doesn't want to stop.

So, is there no choice but to just give up? It can be a lonely feeling when you see people around you wasting money and not investing in themselves, and it causes even more stress.

This creates a resistance to spending money. But isn't it because there is a certain set of values underlying it all? Who decided that investing was good and wasting was bad? Are you really following these values yourself? In other words, can you really say that you never waste money?

Ultimately, the reason why we shouldn't waste money could be to persuade us to invest in ourselves. However, if you finish telling someone to invest in themselves but they still don't want to, it's not as if they will suddenly change their mind. People who tell others to invest in themselves could be just trying to prevent those people from wasting money, but they are imposing something that the other person may not want to do. It's easier to waste money than to invest in oneself, which is hard. Of course, the opposite can happen over time. However, since we are living in the present, there are probably times when we want to make things easier now or want to indulge ourselves now.

If we dig deeper, it's possible that you might not want to invest in yourself and instead want to waste money. Maybe you imagine a future where you invest in yourself and then waste money. In the end, you want to indulge in wasting money even though you've said that one shouldn't waste money. So, you don't have the right to tell others to invest in themselves.

Many people have too much expectation for their future selves and have created a large gap between their present and future selves. It's like setting your sights on getting into the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Medicine. It's not bad to aspire to it, of course, but do you have a plan on how to fill that gap? Both your present and future selves just want to waste money after all.

If you've experienced success in something, it was because you worked hard up until that point, and your past self was supporting you. Your past self is the only one that will always support you. It's only your past self that didn't want to waste money. Your future self is likely to feel too presumptuous and expect too much from your current self. Just enjoy your current self and don't presume that your future self will either. That's why we have to value the present, which is closest to the past. Wanting to enjoy the present is the same as wanting to waste money. Life is ultimately meant for enjoyment and waste. People who tell you to invest in yourself might be investing in themselves to an extreme level. In the end, people should choose their own way of life.