These articles are usually questions that I ask myself. The past couple of weeks I have been pondering this question. Do I / we want more money? If we had more money, what would we do with it? Would that make us any happier? Can we start doing any of those things now in some form? What would I buy or do differently if I had more money?
This brings to mind the story of a fisherman who meets a businessman. The fisherman lives a simple life of fishing and getting enough fish to provide for his family. He then spends the rest of his day with his family and friends and doing things he enjoys. A business man meets the fisherman and has a grand plan for how the fisherman can build a business with more boats and make a lot more money so he can retire – and basically do what the fisherman is already doing. The moral of the story is that the fisherman already is living a happy and satisfying life and doesn’t “need” any more money.
Generally, the studies show that more money doesn’t increase people’s happiness. More money does increase happiness (or I view it as more accurately decreasing the stress and worry about meeting real needs) up to a certain level but that level is fairly low. After an annual income level of $75,000, more money does NOT increase people’s happiness.
My question for you is “What would more money provide for you?”
Yes, money can provide a sense of security but not security from health issues or bad things happening.
It can maybe provide freedom to spend your time how you want but are there ways you can find to do that now?
How can you do more of the things that bring you joy?
Dig a little deeper into WHY you want more money.
Many people work hard and / or commute longer hours in order to provide for their family. At a certain point the “providing” of things is taking away from the quality time together, taking away from their happiness due to stress and / or lack of time. The studies have proven that what DOES increase people’s happiness in their lives is positive social connections, experiences, and memories.
I am not saying people don’t need money. We do. Money is a fact of life. But I truly believe that we don’t NEED as much money to provide or increase our happiness as most people think. Most of us are like the businessman, adding stress and complications and undo “busyness” to our lives to chase more money. The stress and “busyness” of doing things we don’t enjoy actually decreases and takes away from what is truly important and valuable – quality time with those you love, having the time to do what you enjoy, and feeling comfortable in knowing that you have “enough” for what you and your family truly need.
The studies over and over show: that generally more money correlates with more stress and LESS happiness, less satisfaction and joy.
So think about WHY you want more money. What will it provide for you? Are there other ways you can get that? Basically, how can you bring more joy and satisfaction and meaning into your life now? How can you appreciate and utilize what you already have?
The studies show that buying more stuff over the long term does NOT increase our happiness. How we spend our TIME and what we DO with our time is what will increase our happiness over the long run.
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