How much is enough? Here I’m talking about Money. Do we secretly believe that once we finally have that certain amount we will no doubt become the happy people we’ve always wanted to be? Whether conscious or not, many of us think that once I have just a little more I will be happy. But the sobering part in all of this is that the just right amount isn’t actually achievable. So what does all this mean? Surely if I make or acquire X amount of dollars a year/month/day I will be satisfied and I will finally be happy in the truest sense… well… not so much. Interestingly enough studies have been done which show that even the wealthiest people in the world believe that just a little more will do the trick (the trick being that financial position whereby one feels totally satisfied and content). Can you believe it? I’m talking multi, multi millionaires think like this too!
If we find ourselves holding out on our happiness until we reach some personal financial mark in life, I’m sad to say that day will not come. Again, to clarify, I’m not saying that having financial goals is a bad thing, in fact I’m a big proponent of most types of goal setting. I am saying, however, that reaching those financial goals is not the secret to happiness – no matter WHAT marketing, media, and society tell us.
To drive this point home, recent studies by Dr. Richard Ryan and Dr. Tim Kasser, professors of psychology at the University of Rochester and Knox College respectively, suggest that people who focus primarily on the acquisition of wealth (in the hopes it will bring them happiness) tend to experience a high degree of anxiety and depression, a lower sense of well-being, and greater behavioural and physical problems than your average Joe. That seems a bit counter-productive don’t you think?
Perhaps this is not the first time you’ve heard this, nor is it the first time I’ve written something to this effect. But I think all of us need little reminders from time to time. It’s SO easy to get caught up in the deception.
