Do you consider yourself happy? If not, what is keeping you from being as happy as you can be?
Let’s look at a list of some of the things that people think will bring happiness. I am sure you can come up with your own list as well.
More money
A new car
More friends
Specific type of clothes
More education
Boat
Motorcycle
RV
The lottery
A better job
Losing weight
Nicer house
Getting married
Getting divorced
Better health
And so on…
We could go down the above list and sure, each item on the list can increase happiness for a short time, but not for a long time.
Having more money and the relationship of money to happiness has probably been studied more than any other happiness concept. And while researchers have found that rich people are not significantly happier than the average person, they have found that there is a certain amount of money that helps people live happier. In the US it is somewhere between 70 and 100K annually.
Having enough money to cover all expenses with a little left over allows people to live with less stress and it does allow one to save for emergencies and give back more often!
Would you turn down a large sum of money? I don’t know if I would.
Since stress from poor money management is a factor that certainly can decrease happiness, one could deduct that “living within your means” and managing the money that you have could increase happiness.
Something like a car could have a more profound impact on happiness than a boat, especially if someone has a car that is constantly breaking down and is costly to maintain. A newer, more reliable car for that person could relieve a lot of stress and it could contribute to more happiness.
There is a genetic link to happiness and about 50 % of happiness can be learned.
Research shows that more happiness comes from things like being grateful, truly feeling good about yourself, having meaningful and good relationships with friends and family (and this includes a mate), being content, giving back, having work that is enjoyable, having enough money to live comfortably and within your means, being able to forgive people that have wronged you, getting enough sleep and taking care of one’s health, finding humor and laughing, believing in a higher power, and having strategies to reduce or manage life’s stressors.
There is nothing wrong with having anything or everything on the list. Pertaining to happiness, the items on the list are not going to make someone happier long term though.
As seen above, things don’t make us happy. We can find happiness though by working on some of the things above.
Getting a new boat because you have the money to get one without going into debt and you want to spend more quality time with your family and friends just might be good reason to get a boat.
I hope you are happy and if you are, you certainly are in a good spot!
If you are not as happy as you want to be, which aspect of happiness would help you most?