Often we are told that you can’t buy happiness. This is a clichéd quote that we are reminded of time and again, and it’s something that most of us accept to be true. We operate on a day to day basis under the assumption that earning more money and doing better in our career will help us to get more of what we want out of life and to remove some of the daily stresses that we contend with. We won’t struggle so much to pay the rent, we’ll have security for our future, and we’ll be able to enjoy lavish holidays and trips.
But we all know what happens when you focus too much on that idea. You end up working harder and harder in order to afford the lifestyle you want, only to find that all that work creates more work for you in the form of responsibilities and commitments. As you start living that lifestyle you’ll find yourself with more financial commitments too, and in general you’ll actually be more stressed than you were before. Your friends will be envious of your success meanwhile and you’ll be too busy meaning you end up isolating yourself… you can’t buy happiness.
Actually though, this isn’t always the case to quite the degree we believe it to be. While there are certainly problems with trying to ‘buy’ happiness, there are nevertheless other ways that you can make yourself happier by spending money. Read on to find out more…
One Way to Buy Happiness
Working hard to earn a better salary can often equate to selling your soul, and this is one of the reasons that you can’t ‘buy’ happiness. Actually though, there is a way around this if you’re willing to think outside the box, which is to spend your newfound fortune on someone else. They haven’t had to sell their soul or work 24/7 in order to earn that money, and so for them an expensive gift will be a blessing. This is one of the reasons we often work so hard – because we want to buy happiness for our family. Or at least security.
And actually, when we do this we can often find it having a surprise side effect: that being that it actually makes us happier too. Countless studies have shown that doing something nice for someone else will cause us to release more endorphins and other happiness hormones than spending money on ourselves and this is a very genuine way to get happy from cash.
Buying for Both of You
And even better according to research is to buy something that you can share, and that will bring you closer to your friends and family. Want to really feel good about yourself and have a great day? Then spend money on an event for you and a group of friends. You’ll feel the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from having helped them out, and at the same time you’ll get to enjoy an experience that brings you closer together.
Or just buy some nice food for you both. If the shared experience doesn’t do it, then the dopamine you get from the food will!
The author of today’s post, Theo Ananiadis, is the owner of Australian Gourmet Gifts, a company offering a wide range of gift hampers. His other hobbies include boxing and surfing.