Money DOES Make Us Happy

Published Thursday, February 26, 2009 by sicotehmwufxd | E-mail this post

It's very upsetting to people who are struggling financially to hear people with money say "Money can't buy happiness."

People who are barely making ends meet are absolutely sure that they would be happy if they could easily pay all their bills, send their kids to school, perhaps with a little left to buy a new shirt and go to the movies. Best of all, they could get a good, stress-free night's sleep.

And they are right. More money will make any of us happy, especially if we could suddenly pay all our bills with ease.

Why we don't sustain happiness from money

But what happens? Why can't we sustain this exhilaration we feel when we win the lottery, get a raise, see our stock earnings shoot through the roof, see our business become prosperous?

Are you ready for the answers?

1. We get used to the money. (Think about how your current income compares to your very first salary.)

2. We keep comparing ourselves to the people we perceive as having more.

3. If we haven't mastered money management, we soon begin to live beyond our means again.

We're happy if we believe we're at the top of the heap. Our happiness begins to wane the minute we compare ourselves to the folks above us who have 10 times more. (And there'll always be people with more.)

On a recent television show, for example, millionaires were interviewed and asked to talk about how rich they considered themselves to be.

One woman with ten million dollars socked away said that when she talks to billionaires and observes the lifestyle they enjoy, she doesn't feel rich at all. (Of course she can always make herself feel better by looking behind her and see the masses who are struggling on 5-figure incomes.)

And she's not alone. There are so many others, like her, who are millionaires but don't feel rich. She's part of a growing group of millionaires who earned their wealth rather than inherited it. They form a new economic category: middle-class millionaires.

According to Market Watch, March 5, 2008, 7.6% of American households (8.4 million households) are middle-class millionaires and these are the wealthy who continue to work an average of 70 hours a week.

I've always hoped that when I amass millions I would continue to live a moderately modest lifestyle, but I also hope that I won't tie my happiness to the fact that there are others richer than I am.

That throws us into a game we can never win.

In a workshop at the World Economic Forum in Davos in October 2008, this question was posed:

If getting rich makes us happy, then why don't countries as a whole get happier as they grow wealthier?

They discovered that as a country gets wealthier there's no overall increase in happiness.

Why?

Comparing our wealth to others is our downfall

We continually compare our wealth against that of others. We are competitive and envious. Add to that the fact that Western countries encourage people to strive for more and more, and you have a formula that spins many into depression.

So, it's true. Money will make us happy at least for a while, at least on a superficial level. It's like we felt as kids if we had a double scoop ice cream cone but our playmate only had a single scoop.

"Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, I've got more than you do."

But you know what happened. Along comes the kid from down the block with a triple scoop and you just didn't feel as happy any more.

All of this has made me reconsider my goals. I've decided to shoot for a billion dollars. Being a Home And Garden Channel would just land me in another middle class.

What do you think?

Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D. is an author, coach, speaker, consultant and entrepreneur. She has impacted the lives of students, educators, business owners, leaders and many audiences during her career. Her passion for encouraging people to make choices that lead to their happiness began when she was a junior high inner city English teacher and continued to grow deeper as she worked with university students, her own private tutoring program, and with retailers and business owners.
She has written language arts texts, academic articles, curriculum, grant proposals, and motivational guides. Her passion for writing and inspiring others has lead her to create and maintain twelve websites, three blogs and two newsletters.
Her book, Coloring Your Life Happy, scheduled for Spring 2009 release, promotes making choices that give you the life you want.
The philosophy she lives by is "Nobody becomes somebody without the help of somebody else."
From her blog, http://www.ColorYourLifeHappy.com, she encourages uncovering your inner joy and making choices that lead to the life you want.

Money DOES Make Us Happy

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