Can You Buy Happiness?
Can money buy happiness? It's easy to say no, and probably
correct, but that's just a way to stop thinking about the
tougher issues. What is your relationship to money, for
example, and how do you use this most powerful of worldly
tools?
Maybe you see that chasing after money for its own sake is
destructive, but isn't it equally damaging to have such a
powerful instrument in your hands while pretending it has no
importance?
Money Is Important
Some say that money isn't important to them, but this isn't
true. The truth is they don't see the importance. They make
more than they need and yet complain they have no time for
their children, when they could trade time chasing money for
time with their kids.
They want self-improvement, but instead of buying the tools
to help them (a book, a class, a trip to a monastery) they
put $800 televisions on credit cards. Then they work to pay
for it all, taking even more time from their children and
their own personal development.
It's not about televisions. They can be good things. It's
about priorities. How we make money and how we spend money
reveals ourselves. Do we like what we see? Money IS
important, isn't it?
Happiness
So, can money buy happiness? Well, it can help put the right
conditions in place. Is it easier to be happy if you have
food to eat? Whether you call that buying happiness or not,
the understanding is more important than the argument.
Name any valuable goal or direction in your life. Can't you,
with a little imagination, see how money might help? Earn
your money in a healthy, satisfying way, and spend it
wisely, and of course you have a better chance to be happy.
Clearly, we need a deeper understanding of this than a
cliche can provide.
About the Author
Steve Gillman writes on many self help topics including
boosting brainpower, losing weight, meditation, habits of
mind, creative problem solving, learning gratitude,
generating luck and anything related to self improvement.
You'll find more at http://www.SelfImprovementNow.com