Five-Minute Stress Relief.com
Making Money vs. Experiencing Happiness
There is a dichotomy, a two-way situation, between making lots of money and experiencing happiness. An old saying that is quite true goes like this: there’s a big difference between having enough money and not; but there’s less difference between having enough money and having more than enough.
Of course, most of us know what it feels like to not have enough money – struggling to pay your bills, frantically thinking how to stretch your funds and worrying about the future. And, as a result, Americans are obsessed with shows about money and wealth (Deal or No Deal, 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' Make Me a Millionaire, MTV Cribs) and magazines (the annual Forbes 400 Wealthiest People) that transport us into the world of lots of money. (The minimum wealth for the 2007 Forbes list was 1.3 billion!)
A Price to Pay
But there is a price to pay for all this obsessing about money. Americans live shorter, more stressful lives than in many other countries. Heart disease (including strokes) is our number killer. Americans take less (or none at all) vacation time than anywhere in Europe. We run up the highest debt per person, living on the financial edge as our nation’s economic wellbeing is based on high consumer spending. (A great majority of all retail businesses are dependent for their survival on the frenzied spending of Christmas season.)
Our population is divided not into social classes, but economic classes. And a large percentage of well-to-do individuals are dissatisfied that they’re not rich enough. Surveys of millionaires in Beverly Hills, Silicon Valley, Palm Beach, etc. who view their wealth as so little compared to others, confirm this reality. Discontented millionaires are competing for more social prestige that is solely determined on their net worth. So it’s no wonder that the most common time that heart attacks occur is Monday morning, 9am. And all this envy, jealousy and other negative emotions are killing us at a faster rate. (See Toxic Emotions Can Kill You.)
Setting Our Priorities Straight
So when it comes to the dichotomy of money verses happiness, it begins with setting our priorities straight: The purpose of your life is to find happiness. Beyond achieving your survival needs, experiencing happiness is a state of being – a life condition that is not determined by your environment (being on a vacation, recreational sports, being at a party or other social events), rather it is determined by your state of mind.
Your state of mind is something can be developed through exploration of self-improvement psychology (Cognitive Behavior Modification), through philosophical learning (See Spiritual Quotes, Spiritual Quotes II, Spiritual Quotes III) and through your exposure to and learning from people who are happy day-in-day-out. (Because so many of us grew up in some type of emotionally dysfunctional setting, we actually have to learn the art of happiness on our own.) Hint: It’s not having what you want; it’s wanting what you have.
© 2009 Five-Minute Stress Relief - All Rights Reserved
Sources: Money Can't Buy Happiness - UU Research (http://www.ulster.ac.uk) Americans Say Money Is Number One Cause of Stress American Psychological Association March 31, 2004
Print PDF Page for: Making Money vs. Experiencing Happiness |
