Even though everyone agrees that one of the greatest feelings in the world is seeing dollar signs in your bank account, the question always aligns: Do those dollar signs really bring happiness? The psychology behind this relies solely on the emotional peaks that come with possessing money. Now that you have enough money, you are able to go spend it on things that make you happy, right?
That, is, how the stigma is supposed to work. But, before you spend all of that hard earned cash on clothes, the latest Jordan’s for your son, the new iPhone, or trips… you have to take into consideration that you also have bills. You have to pay for your home, car, electricity, loans, and more. Even if you do have excess, what do you do with it? Do you invest it, save it, or spend it? The decision is up to you.
Even if money cannot buy happiness in a direct manner, it can help make your life much easier and less stressful. It can help your mental health, your emotional health, and your overall well-being. But it is important to remember: no matter how many zeroes are at the end of your bank account, your self worth is not your net worth.
It is important to find what brings you happiness, whether it be monetary value or otherwise. If you are depressed, in a rut, or lacking compassion, the idea of finding happiness is the key to your survival. The ideology behind money being able to buy happiness stems from what the person possesses and the value of their possessions.
If these possessions cost more and hold their value to others in the present moment, then it is said that the holder will become happier. However, being around people will usually make an individual happier, as well. Unless, that person does not like people.
The road to attaining happiness is a journey personal to each individual. If a person is able to find happiness, then there is no wrong way to do so, as every person will find their version of happiness is a way that is unique to them. Studies have shown that they key to this is to remove yourself from others that make you unhappy, focusing on moods, and finding joy in the things that you possess – not want to possess.
The work to increase the positivity in yourself is what will make you happy in the long run, no matter what you own or how big your bank account is. The reasons below will prove thar money does not buy happiness, but it will indeed make your life easier:
• It Gives You Less Time to Enjoy What You Have – if an individual has an abundance of net worth, then they have less time to pick exactly what they want to enjoy. The more a person owns, the less likely they are to use any of what they own for enjoyment. Therefore, their possessions lead to less time using them and more time feeling as though they are the product of wasted money.
• Material Possessions Only Provide Temporary Happiness – when a purchase is new, it always comes with an expiration date. This expiration date can vary from the time it takes to breaking down, selling it, or the person’s happiness dwindles with it. Regardless, every one of these feelings are temporary.
When an object is bought, it may feel good to do it in the moment, but that moment is only for a short amount of time. If the argument comes into play that money actually does buy happiness, then money should be spent on experiences that you can remember for the long haul. Material items will not make you feel happiness in the way that experiences will.
• You Will Always Want More Than What You Have – the human phenomenon is when an individual purchases something, they get a bit of a high and feel the need to purchase more things to maintain this high. While it is great to have more money, it is not what is behind the emotion of happiness if the person’s plan is continuously purchase items with it. Expensive clothes and fancy cars are only expensive and fancy until the happiness and high surrounding them wears off, and the need to purchase something new and flashy overtakes you.
• Purchasing New Items Will Not Make Heal Us Mentally – We all know that when a break-up happens, you will go buy a tub of Ben & Jerry’s and indulge. It will heal that pain and give the feeling of temporary happiness, but your mental state has nothing to do with that delicious ice cream.
If you suffer from hedonic treadmill, then it could mean that your individual pursuit to find your happiness will lead you to become miserable and unhappy as your happiness will not be fulfilling, and you will lack any sort of contentment in your lifestyle.
At the end of the day, money still holds a contribution to possibly making you happier. Money is not everything in life, but the world is also full of things that money cannot buy. Some of these things can be experiences with your family, or adventures on your own.
The relationships that you hold with your family and friends, doing what makes you as an individual happy, and being content wherever your life is, is the basis behind where true happiness forms. Money may be able to help you achieve the things listed above, but it is not everything. In the end, being happy does not revolve around the dollar bills in your pocket, but being content with yourself.
