How To Prioritise Life Over Money?
Updated: Sep 22
In most Western countries, the poorest people enjoy things past kings would have killed for. We feast on great comforts that are one click away. Despite this evolutionary magic, OECD (2024a; 2024b) studies found that this exponential growth in wealth has not translated in an improvement of how we feel. 70% of employees in Malta said they experienced poor wellbeing at work, 57% said they are struggling and 1 in 6 have mental health conditions (MISCO, 2026; Gallup 2026; WHO, 2026).
‘How can the richest society in history, make us feel this miserable?’
Why Are We Sacrificing Our Lives For Money?
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People in Malta earn higher than average income whilst feeling lower satisfaction over time when compared to the EU average. The higher income is fruit of of an economy that has quadrupled over the past 20 years, has quadrupled. However, when 38% of employees report burnt out, the joys of that higher income might end up burning into thin air (Gallup, 2026; Farrugia, K. & Chan, J., 2024).
Based on the numbers, the price we are paying for higher income is more time at work and and a lower mental health. 45% spend more than 40 hours per week at work and 13% exceed 48 hours a week. And this does not take into account part time work. Rather than greater satisfaction, both Gallup and WHO point towards 1 in 4 people suffer from stress or mental health issues.
Times Of Greater Uncertainty
The reasons are not entirely our fault. Property prices have increased by 75% over 10 years. According to Pedament (2026) the average value of a property deed moved from 280,000 in 2024 to 320,000 in 2026. Prices over the past 10 years have increased by 25%, which means that 1000 Euros in 2016 are now worth 800 Euros. Hence if you feel like a mad man or woman trying to catch up with the money you need for your lifestyle, you are not alone.
Stress is an ever increasing symptom. Using Google Trends, anxiety search term has been increasing since 2011, peaking in covid. It still remains high levels and in 2026 it increased due to the Iran war and Jurgen Fenech's trial. Covid-19 was particularly tense for a lot of people and many claim that since then things have not settled.
From 2019, people thriving fell significantly. 2020 and 2021 were the years of Covid and the argument can be made that this effected people negatively. However, Gallup (2026), found that Maltese people are experiencing heavier stress that EU average even in 2025 and thriving numbers have not recovered. Hence, these issues are not only impacting everyone, including those who were thriving years ago.
Poverty Levels Are Still High
Not everyone is enjoying the Maltese wealth rush. According to NSO (2026a) over 109,000 people in Malta (or 19% of he population) were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Of these 48,000 (8.7%) have struggled to meet their material or social needs whilst around 24,000 (4.1%) have experienced severe deprivation.
Around 30% of people living in Malta, are foreign nationals. Of these, 60% have less than 40 years of age and around 80% are TCNs (NSO,2026a). Using estimates from data, one can deduct that 22.9% of foreign citizens coming here, may face a high risk of poverty and could potentially live in very difficult conditions.
A Luxury Based On Loans
During a 2026 interview Prime Minister Abela said there is a rising number of people who could afford luxuries (Zammit, 2026). His arguments were criticised because he did not include people in poverty. That said, 15,000 new cars and 16,000 new final deeds of residential property were made annually. When the GDP per capita's tripled, it is difficult to rebuke what the Prime Minister said.
The top 20% of the population earn 4.5 times more than the lowest 20%. When it comes to wealth, the top 10% of households have three times more wealth than the bottom 50% of households. Over the past twenty years inequality levels stayed relatively the same even as people earned more.
Maltese households owe 10 billion Euros to banks. In the Central Banks’s figures of 2025, residential debt increased by 10% (increase of around 1 billion). From an economic perspective, there are enough assets to cover for it. However, people may feel pressured and trapped in their life choices, because they need to honour those commitments.
The Status Trap: Fear Of Falling Behind
Malta is one of the highest spender of clothing, footwear and communications in Europe. 36 cars and 41 properties are being sold daily and the costs of living is increasing. When you add debt repayment, education, food expenses and children, costs are never ending. Cost of living in Malta, is on the increase and many people are feeling its impact. Unfortunately research found that materialistic values, extrinsic aspirations and social comparison do not bring greater wellbeing (Isham, 2022).
People feel a need to compare to others. Research of 90,000 people across 109 countries found that people evaluated their wellbeing through their income ranking within society. Whilst the absolute wealth is still important, people may feel greater satisfaction when earning more than others. However, when comparing upward, research found that doing so reduces self esteem drastically, leading to lower life satisfaction (Lee, 2020)
When comparing with others, inequality can become stress. If everyone is trying to outrank each other, few win. Given that inequality levels haven't changed much, despite increasing income, people may feel going back. For those seeking to catch up, this is a recipe for perpetual fear of falling behind. What looks like greed may be fear wearing expensive clothes.
What Can We Do To Get Out Of The Hamster Wheel?
Stop Doing What Doesn’t Work
Looking away will not make it better. We know that even ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand. And for good reason. Whenever, I needed to solve any problem i needed to face it head on. If we are going to get out of the hamster wheel, we need to face the truth. As much as truth can set us free, it can be painful.
Blaming won't change the world. I used to blame the government, the borders, religions, the system and the greed of the elites. Even if they might be the cause of the suffering, blaming only made my blood pressure increase. If your neighbour lights your house on fire, swearing at them won't help. First you need to get out of the fire, get the fire sorted and fix your house before you can even work to address the source of fire.
Let go of the idea that you can control all the external factors. I used to think that I was in control of my money. One day a student, who had six figures in a bank, was declined a payment. Although the numbers were showing on his app, his bank had collapsed taking away his money. We are given the illusion that we are in control of life, but really, we are not.
Let go of worry, it only makes you anxious. Money, success, power, position, relationship & almost all the things we seek are beyond our control. As much as we try to bully the world to give us what we want, it will not make it easier. In fact, I know many people who have all they ever dreamed and still feel miserable. Focusing on getting, make us worry about things we can’t control.
Check if the goals you have are yours, not someone else's. The hardest thing I had to face was that many of the goals I had, were not even mine. I have spent decades chasing stuff I did not care about. I had no idea how many ideas were implanted in my head by family, friends, coworkers and society.
Focus on what you can control. Life satisfaction and mental health improved drastically when people focus on what they can control (Kesavayuth et al., 2022). Having internal locus of control, makes us more likely to act healthily and gain life satisfaction (Nowak, 2024). In therapy I was surprised to find that learning how to work with thoughts, emotions and actions, brings the greatest results. Over time anxiety left and I found enough confidence to do what is needed to build my life.
But Everyone Does This, So What Choice Do I Have?
Take Care Of The Basics
We have 4160 weeks to live, if we live up to 80. To me that number is shockingly small considering weeks keep passing by so fast. When you are on your death bed, do you think accumulating toys like cars, property and position will matter? Do you want to stay miserable doing what everyone else tells you should?
It is time to say: "I choose to be alive".
Appreciate what you have. People think that ‘Getting what I want is all that matters.’ One day I realised that I had 9 out 10 of what I wanted in life. I felt worse than when I had nothing. Rather than enjoying the 9 out 10 things I acquired, I kept focusing on what I did not have, robbing me the joy and power to take action. Most people are in this situation & do not realise it.
It is time to say: "I appreciate myself & what I have".
Take care of body and mind. I noticed that when I do not sleep well, my mood gets very unstable. Similarly, when I miss my twenty minutes of daily walk, stress spikes & decision making takes a plunge. Eating processed foods makes me feel heavy and down, forgetting all the good things in life. Many people in important positions take their health seriously because they know, if their health fails them, they cannot do what is needed.
It is time to say: "I take care of what is important for me".
You can either find time for life or be forced to fix problems. When I did not find time for sleep, exercise & diet, I would end up spending all my time dealing with stress, conflict & consequences of bad decisions. When I managed to reorganising my timetable, I improved my productivity by 60% because I did not give time to focus on my anxiety & lack of energy. I realised that it is better to do a little everyday rather than going to the doctor everyday.
It is time to say: "I will find time for what matters".
Security, Belonging & Status Only Come From Aliveness
Security comes from focusing on what you can control. When people focus on money, power, position and things they cannot control, anxiety becomes normal. You are never fully in control of getting these. But a sense of security when you trust yourself to bring in what you need for you and those that matter.
It is time to say: "I will focus on what I can control.".
Free yourself from the trap of fitting in. One of the hardest truths that I had to face is that most people will only be happy for you, unless you are not better than them. People either end up trying to stay safe or become nasty. Either way you have built a prison based on what other people think.
It is time to say: "I will be free of the opinion of others."
Find what makes you feel alive. To quench the thirst of feeling alive, people spend loads of money on alcohol, work, coffee, energy dinks, restaurants, drugs and sex. These might compensate for the soullessness of our lives by filling the tank for minutes or hours. Yet all external methods of feeling alive either don't last or come back with a vengeance
It is time to say: "I will prioritise life."
Follow your curiosity. Research found that one of the greatest predictors of daily vitality is is when you follow your curiosity and achieve the goals of that curiosity (Sheldon, 1999). When I followed what excites me & makes me feel alive, I would enjoy whatever I am doing even if it resulted in failure. Following curiosity is easier than keeping up with the Johnases as it in my control. This links to self determination theory that emphasizes autonomy, motivation and competence (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
It is time to say: "I will follow what excites me."
Let go of too much self-focus. I remember that after finding my own interests, I started obsessing about them. That initial thrill stopped and I felt low. Whilst self-reflection is essential, excessive self-focus is linked to depression and negative mood (Mor & Winquist, 2002). In my eyes, a society that does not share its curiosity with others is a nation of people feeling lonely.
It is time to say: "I will find joy making others better than me."
Choosing Being Alive
Step 1. Your personal worth needs to be based on something other than money and success. Money, success, relationships and all the good things of society are great things to aspire to. But if you focus on getting them to make you feel alive, you will be trapped in misery. When you instead focus on cultivating curiosity, competence and autonomy, aliveness will be the result.
Step 2. Choose From What Gives You Life. We do not need to be monks, nuns or leave our jobs. Perhaps what we need is to learn to appreciate what we have and stop chasing what we do not. I noticed that when I chose from appreciation, I attracted a better life. When I chose from neediness, life becames miserable. The measure is, 'Would I feel more alive following this decision?'
Step 3. Be the life to your own party. Waiting for the next paycheck, property purchase or catching up with my neighbour to feel good, is emotional slavery to me. To feel truly secure, the easiest way I found was to learn how to give energy to the body, care for others, take responsibility and develop competence (Ryan & Frederick, 1997).
Step 4: Enjoy this ride. In the movie Bucket List, Morgan Freeman asks Jack Nicholson what are the questions asked before entering heaven. The first question is ‘Have you found joy in your life?’ and the second is ‘How many people have you brought joy to?’ If we spend more time bringing joy to ourselves and those around us, maybe we can find the joy we were looking for originally.
References
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