Can money actually buy happiness?
in Psychology ·
Happiness? Not quite. Satisfaction, though? Absolutely.
True happiness requires a target to aim for, and there’s a certain joy found in every step taken toward that goal.
If you were to wave a magic wand right now and grant everyone on Earth an infinite bank account, you wouldn't create a utopia. In fact, you’d probably end up with more miserable people than we have today.
Most people—even those grinding away at jobs they don't particularly enjoy—are driven by a sense of purpose. Someone is working toward a new iPhone, someone else is saving for a Jeep, another is eyeing a house in the suburbs, or just trying to provide for their kids. If you hand them all the cash upfront, you strip away their direction. Suddenly, the drive is gone, and along with it, their sense of fulfillment.
The same logic applies to money as it does to any other resource humans crave.
Take, for example, a woman who is head-over-heels in love. All she really wants is her partner's attention. If you asked her how much of it she’d like, she’d tell you "all of it."
But if that man actually gave her every single ounce of attention she could possibly desire—if he met every whim instantly—the spark would likely fade. Why? Because the pursuit is over. There is no longer a goal to chase.
Money is essentially the siding on a house. It can make a functional structure look much better, but it can't build the foundation.
True happiness requires a target to aim for, and there’s a certain joy found in every step taken toward that goal.
If you were to wave a magic wand right now and grant everyone on Earth an infinite bank account, you wouldn't create a utopia. In fact, you’d probably end up with more miserable people than we have today.
Most people—even those grinding away at jobs they don't particularly enjoy—are driven by a sense of purpose. Someone is working toward a new iPhone, someone else is saving for a Jeep, another is eyeing a house in the suburbs, or just trying to provide for their kids. If you hand them all the cash upfront, you strip away their direction. Suddenly, the drive is gone, and along with it, their sense of fulfillment.
The same logic applies to money as it does to any other resource humans crave.
Take, for example, a woman who is head-over-heels in love. All she really wants is her partner's attention. If you asked her how much of it she’d like, she’d tell you "all of it."
But if that man actually gave her every single ounce of attention she could possibly desire—if he met every whim instantly—the spark would likely fade. Why? Because the pursuit is over. There is no longer a goal to chase.
Money is essentially the siding on a house. It can make a functional structure look much better, but it can't build the foundation.