Why does this keep happening?
👉 Lower-income groups chase a “normal life”
👉 Middle-income groups chase a “wealthy life”
👉 And everyone ends up struggling
This is not about personality.
👉 This is structural.
■ The Core Answer
👉 People are comparing themselves to the wrong reference point
👉 Everyone is looking one level above their actual position
■ 1. Social Media Broke the Baseline
In the past:
👉 You compared yourself to your neighbours
Now:
👉 You compare yourself to the world
Open any platform and you see:
- International travel
- Luxury cars
- Large homes
- Branded lifestyles
👉 These represent the top 10% (or less)
👉 But they are perceived as “normal”
👉 This is the first distortion
■ 2. Finance Systems Let You Borrow the Lifestyle
Traditionally:
👉 Lifestyle followed income
Now:
👉 Lifestyle comes first
Through:
- Mortgages
- Car loans
- Buy-now-pay-later systems
👉 You consume before you earn
👉 You are effectively borrowing a higher lifestyle
👉 This is the second distortion
■ 3. The Definition of “Normal” Has Shifted Upward
What used to be normal:
👉 Smaller homes
👉 One car
👉 Simpler living
What is now considered normal:
👉 Larger homes
👉 Two cars
👉 Full insurance coverage
👉 Subscriptions and frequent spending
👉 This is already a higher-tier lifestyle
👉 But it’s framed as “standard”
👉 This is the third distortion
■ 4. People Copy What They Can See
Humans judge based on visible signals:
👉 Houses
👉 Cars
👉 Brands
But ignore:
👉 Debt
👉 Fixed expenses
👉 Cash flow pressure
👉 So people copy the surface
👉 Not the structure
👉 This is the fourth distortion
■ 5. The Illusion of Future Income
Many people believe:
👉 “I will earn more later”
So they upgrade their lifestyle early.
But reality:
👉 Income growth is uncertain
👉 Fixed costs are not
👉 Result:
👉 Expenses stay
👉 Income may not
👉 This is the fifth distortion
■ The Full Picture
👉 Lower-income groups aim for “normal”
👉 Middle-income groups aim for “wealth”
👉 But both are chasing something above their level
👉 That’s why:
👉 Everyone feels financially stretched
■ The Real Problem
👉 This is not about effort
👉 This is about design
If your reference point is wrong,
👉 your entire life structure becomes misaligned
■ The Brutal Truth
👉 “Normal” is not a neutral baseline
👉 It is a constructed standard
👉 A curated image
👉 Reinforced by systems
👉 Enabled by debt
👉 If you adopt it blindly,
you inherit its consequences:
- Long-term debt
- High fixed expenses
- Continuous work dependency
■ Final Insight
👉 You are not choosing your lifestyle as freely as you think
👉 You are being guided toward it
So the real solution is not:
👉 “Earn more”
👉 It is:
👉 Redefine what “normal” means for you
■ Final Line
👉 The people who escape are not the highest earners
👉 They are the ones who question the baseline
👉 And design their life on their own terms
This connects to
“Foundations of Thinking” and “Money Design.”
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