What Do You Need to Be Happy?
When a University of Michigan survey asked people what they believed would improve their quality of life the answer given most often was, “More money.”
In their book The Day America Told the Truth, James Patterson and Peter Kim asked, “If you could change one thing about your life what would it be?” The number one response at 64 percent was, “Greater wealth.”
A University of Southern California study found that greater wealth didn’t translate into greater happiness for many of the 1,500 people surveyed annually over three decades. USC economist Richard Easterlin said, “Many people are under the illusion that the more money we make, the happier we’ll be,” but, according to the study, that isn’t true.
We know from other well-respected studies that fewer Americans are “very happy” today than in the 1950s despite having far more money, bigger homes and more stuff. In 1950 there were 3,000 shopping malls in this country, by 2000 there were 45,025. We have more money, we have more stuff but clearly, greater affluence has not translated to greater happiness.
Happy, but not a lot happier
Are there any circumstances under which more money will bring happiness? The truth is that if you are living in poverty, having more money will make a positive difference in your quality of life and yes, you will be happier. But once your basic material needs are met, many experts agree that having more money might be nice but it’s not likely to make you a lot happier, if at all.
What we think, what we do
The problem is that most of us just don’t know what we really believe about money. We can’t live with it but we can’t live without it, either. We think that more of it will fix all of our problems even though we prove month after month that aren’t very good at managing what we already have.
Happiness or contentment?
A recent gathering of friends at my home stirred up some provoking conversation. One person suggested that we have a confusion of terms. When people say they want happiness, what they’re really looking for is contentment—that feeling of satisfaction that does not go away once the carpet is a few months old, the car has lost its “newness” or the holidays are over.
He went on to suggest that happiness is the result of a “happening” and when the event is over, the happiness also goes away. The contentment we seek comes with satisfaction and fulfillment that are not tied to specific events but rather based upon things that do not change like warm family relationships, connecting to God and expressions of sincere gratitude.
I think our resident philosopher is really on to something. If nothing else he certainly made all of us think.
What would it take?
So where do you weigh in on this subject? What do you need to be happy? In your heart do you believe that more money would make you happier? How much would it take to make you really happy? Or have you discovered a source of true contentment and found it is not tied to money?
Published 2013; Updated and republished 11-2-23
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We have had much and now not so much. Lost most of it in the economy melt down a few years ago. We are not less happy. The only thing more money would help with is less worry. But with Mary Hunt’s help we are learning to live with what we have coming in.
We aren’t truly wealthy until we possess something valuable that money can’t buy.
I want to get up in the morning and be able to say_ I love what I do. It requires money because I have always dreamed of having my own business. So yes money would make me happy and fulfilled.
I feel that I would be content with what I have if my house were fixed/repaired to the point of not being embarrassed to have people over. I would love to have my family over for entertaining, but started projects have not been completed due to lack of funding.
I have never commented on this website before but feel so strong about this. When I was in high school, over 30 years ago, I was asked to take a value clarification test, very popular in those days, on what we thought was the most important things in life. Out of a class of about 25 students, I was the only one who chose family and friends. Everyone else chose something concerning money and wealth. My and my husband’s priority has always been about loving and caring for people. We have spent our money to help people and maintain a comfortable lifestyle. God has blessed us with contentment and many friends. How much is too much? I believe that what you are referring to is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. If your basic needs are met, money is not the motivator of your life but finding satisfaction and contentment in what you do. With much money comes great responsibility and not everyone is equipped to handle that.
When I was younger and had no $$ and was in debt, I thought about having all the money in the world. But, the question I asked myself was what would I do with it? And, what I really wanted to do was travel. Material things come and go. They go out of fashion, become worn out, break, become lost or worse (fire, tornado, hurricane, tornado, hail). I think when you flip the question, you are better able to determine what you value and what you want more of realistically in life.
Another question I asked myself when I had no $$ and was in debt was what did I want more (material things) of? The answer turned out to be socks and underwear. As long as I have lots of socks and underwear, I don’t feel materially deprived! LOL
Receiving money is a Happening – What you do with the increase will decide the level and amount of happiness. Joe W
Remember the TV show, “The Millionaire”? Most of the time the recipient of the million dollars would anonymously do “good”. That’s really the only reason we would like more money…even a little bit can do a lot of good in lots of places. Otherwise, we are quite content with accepting our “daily” bread, with gratitude.
What do I need to be happy? My wonderful husband — and a DOG! With these two living creatures in my life and just enough money to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table (even if the roof needs repairs and the food isn’t exactly gourmet) and our health, the rest doesn’t add an iota to our happiness.
Someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to.
We’ve been married almost 49 years–have gone from making $1829/yr in the military to 70K/yr, and can tell you that our joy and happiness never depended on how much money we had or didn’t have. The basis for our contentment is realizing that God has given us everything we need–including His Son and our salvation through His death on the cross. No amount of anyone’s money can buy a happy marriage, successful (in their relationships and life in general), adult children, good relationships with family members and friends, or good health. Money cannot stop taxes, cancer or death! 🙂