While some can have the most ostentatious parties and weddings, is wealth truly easy to manage? Is it easy to have 100s and 1000s of friends and relationships and acquaintances? Back to “surface area” for a bit.
As Shane says, our friendships also add to our surface area. The more friends we have, the less time we can spend with each one.
Wealth expands our surface area too, as managing various assets and investments requires effort.
When our surface area grows too much, people hire other people to help. He says that assistants and property managers, for instance, can mask the expanding surface area by abstracting it. Despite having so much, and delegating work to so many, is there real peace?
As our surface area increases, so do our responsibilities and mental burdens. Most truly happy people tend to maintain a smaller surface area. They focus on fewer things, leading to less work and more satisfaction. It appears that keeping our surface area small is key to maximizing enjoyment and reducing stress.