According to research, the life circumstances in which we find ourselves; meaning that whether we live in a mansion or a trailer, on the sunny southern west coast or the bitterly cold prairies, our degree of beauty or plainness, our fitness level or body mass index, or whether we are married or single makes up only about 10% of our sense of well-being and happiness. In theory, then, this means that we can spend the better part of our adult life scrimping, saving, and stressing over every dime spent in order to one day afford our dream home with an ocean view which we believe will make us so much more happy in life, when it actuality it really won’t.
The bad news is that the most glorious pair of black patent stilettos, the perfect breezy summer party dress, a wrinkle free forehead, an ideal waist-to-hip ratio, or the newest iphone, signed hockey jersey, biggest television screen, or fastest BMW will not actually make us noticeably happier. So if an increase in happiness level is what we seek by the acquisition of such things, our efforts are relatively futile. The good news is that the most glorious pair of black patent stilettos, the perfect breezy summer party dress, a wrinkle free forehead, an ideal waist-to-hip ratio, or the newest iphone, signed hockey jersey, biggest television screen, or fastest BMW will not actually make us noticeably happier. So if we lack the means to acquire such things without then being obligated to pay for them for the next 35 years, all is not lost for we will be no more miserable in their absence.
When found reflecting on our lives and the circumstances in which we find ourselves many of us are often apt to use the phrase if only [insert your hearts desire here] then I would be [insert your most desired emotional outcome here]… Well, as it turns out research shows us that our if only phrase is almost always destined to end with: I will feel pretty much exact same as I do now in a few short days, hours, or even minutes.
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me but I find this information incredibly liberating.
