Money And Happiness Essay

Money and Happiness are two things that we have all given a lot thought. We put lots of effort into these two things either trying to earn them or trying to increase them. The connection we make between money and happiness is strange because they are two very different concepts. Money is tangible, you can quantify it, and know exactly how much of it you have at any given time. Happiness, on the other hand, is subjective, elusive, has different meanings for different people and despite the efforts of behavioral scientist and psychologist alike, there is no definitive way to measure happiness. In other word, counting happiness is much more difficult than counting dollar bills. How can we possibly make this connection? Well, money, specifically in large quantity, allows for the freedom to do and have anything you want. And in simplest term, happiness can be thought of as life satisfaction and enjoyment. So wouldn’t it make sense that the ability to do everything you desire, result in greater satisfaction with your life.
The question of whether money buys happiness and how we choose to answer this question has significant implications in our lives because it directly affects our choices. Most of us base our choices on the amount of money they will result in. We compromise our integrity to demanding bosses in the hope of getting a promotion or a large bonus. We pick college majors based on their monetary value rather than our interest because we believe the extra money will make us hap...

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...ing include appreciating simple pleasure, volunteering, engaging in deep conversations, investing in relationships, exercise and even a good night’s sleep. Sometimes being happier is simply a matter of choosing to be.
This return us to the question of how much consideration you should give to money when making life choices to achieve the universal goal of happiness. And the answer is you should make choices that will give you enough money to live comfortably and allow you to focus on other factors that contribute to your happiness, such as interpersonal relationships and generosity towards others. And you should do this with the understanding that more money does not necessary result in happiness, although it does help, if spent in the right way.