Money Does Not Buy Happiness - Essay Example

Money Does Not Buy Happiness of Establishment Money Does Not Buy Happiness Everybody wants to be happy, and people go to great heights to achieve and preserve their happiness (Kesibir & Diener, 2008 pg 1). However, what is this thing called happiness? Happiness differs among different people, and for this reason, it is hard to define satisfaction to the satisfaction of every individual. This paper aims to place focus on the view happiness by different authors. The paper also investigates whether money contributes to happiness or to the state of being unhappy. If money can buy happiness, does this mean that every unhappy person out there does not have any money. Then, if so, how much money does one need in order to be happy? Some factors have been identified to contribute to happiness. In addition to having money, having a good bill of health, a good family life, and good friends all lead to happiness. Money does not buy happiness, as there is no commercial value to life’s pleasures. Money provides distractions from the factors that contribute to unhappiness thus money cannot buy happiness. What is Happiness? According to Kesebir and Diener (2008), happiness is the state of feeling the subjective well-being, through life satisfaction. Factors that lead to happiness include satisfaction with life domains, positive attitude, and low levels of negative attitude (Kesebir and Dierner, 2008 pg 2)”. Therefore, the state of being happy or unhappy arises from how an individual responds to his/her life situations. The proposed definition of happiness by Easterlin (1973) is that it is more than material well-being. Other factors such as economic factors and health in addition to the financial factor are all important in ensuring the happiness of an individual. In my view, if an individual experiences positive life scenarios every day, they will be happy and motivated for the next day. Lane (1993) defines happiness in four main ranks. Having a satisfying family life, joys of friendship, satisfying work, and leisure are identified as the parameters of happiness (Lane, 1993 pg 15). In the same view, money is only a side factor towards the achieving of happiness. Therefore, having money alone is not enough to be happy. The state of being unhappy arises from an experience of any of the mentioned life domains. Happiness is a feeling that is individualized, regardless of whether there is money or not. One can be happy or be unhappy even with a lot of money. The decision on what is important in their life and work towards achieving it is a clear indicator of happiness. The individual also has to learn how to be satisfied with what they have regardless of what other people have, hence the motivation of the subjective well-being. Being satisfied with yourself no matter the life conditions one is a true definition of a state of being happy. External factors that contribute to happiness  External factors contribute greatly towards an individual’s happiness. The three authors share similarities in identifying some external factors that are believed to contribute to happiness. Kesebir and Dierner (2008) identify having wealth and friends as factors that contribute to happiness (Kesebir and Dierner, 2008 pg 6). In my view, when an individual interacts with the society, the society becomes an integral part of them. They make friends, they start a family life, a satisfying job, entertainment, and a good bill of health as external factors that contribute to their happiness. These people will create passions for these external factors besides money. Every individual would love to keep his or her family, even if it means losing money. Money can only be used to finance for some external factors such as material wealth. However, according to Lane (1993) some life pleasures do not have an economic value. Their findings help me draw my opinion that the financial power is used for material things that provide for shallow satisfaction. However, this does not contribute to actual happiness. Having money can only allow an individual to buy material things, but their access to factors that make an individual happy is out of reach. The same external factors that contribute to happiness if revered contribute to a state of unhappiness. External factors that lead to unhappiness Lane has emphasized on the importance of having a good family life as a major contributing factor to happiness. Having friends and social relations has been identified as positive factors. Hence, if an individual does not have a loving family, their state of happiness if influenced negatively. According to Lane (1993), the major argument as to why money cannot buy happiness is because these external factors do not have a monetary value. An individual can afford quality health insurance, but they cannot buy a good bill of health. It is also not possible to buy friends and loving family members with money. A sense of well-being which contributes to a condition of happiness is realized when an individual discovers what they truly yearn for. This is through enjoying a family life, friendship or even having a job where one is satisfied, no matter the amount of income it generates. The hedonic treadmill is a great indicator of the relationship between money and happiness. Lane (1993) uses the hedonic treadmill in analyzing money and happiness. This follows that an increase in income relatively enhance expenditure and that there are weak relations to a matched increase in satisfaction. I think the fact that we cannot use money to influence the sense of wellbeing in the long term means that indeed money cannot buy happiness. The brief sensation of wellbeing provided by money is overwhelmed by the need to maintain the status. Therefore, the state of unhappiness is resumed, as that particular individual did not achieve self-satisfaction. Internal dispositions and happiness There are varieties of factors that contribute to happiness. According to Kesebir and Diener, achievement, religion, and personality contribute to happiness (Kesebir & Diener, 2008 pg 8). These factors are meant to reinforce the subjective well-being and the satisfaction that is obtained from this process. The individuals gain motivation due to their actions, rather than depending on the money to be happy. True happiness is devoid of the material gains such as money, but it incorporates the mind that feels the reward. According to Easterlin (1973), self-satisfaction, which can result from marriage and good education, plays a role in promoting happiness. In my view, factors that interact directly with the individual greatly affect the level of happiness they experience. The problems that occur cannot be resolved by money, but by the level of the subjective well-being is a pure component. That is, an individual has to rise above the daily problems that are resolved by money and achieve a state where even having very little resources is still satisfying. Things that promote self-esteem such as love and appreciating oneself do not have an economic value. Therefore, my thought draws on the same line. A person can achieve happiness without financial power, as the important things in life are not bough. The same reasoning follows if an individual cannot learn to appreciate what they have, the amount of income they generate will not buy the satisfaction they seek. National Income and Happiness The article by Easterlin (1973) focuses a lot on national income and the happiness of citizens. He examines different countries with low and high-income rates and tries to establish which nation seems happier. This follows the fact that many people when asked about what makes them happy they respond mentioning financial power. “The findings were that richer countries are not typically happier than poorer countries (Easterlin, 1973 pg 12).” If money was the typical reciprocal of happiness, then we expect the richer countries to be extremely happy. In a study done in United States, an increase in income percentage is not matched by an increase in nations’ happiness (Lane, 1993). An increase in income helps reduce the worries of money to cater for basic needs. What an increase in income achieves is temporary relief. In my opinion, people from developed countries with higher income rates than people from developing countries also have as many expenditures to shoulder. It is also my stand that money does not buy the things that matter in life and for this reason, an increase in finances does not alter the sense of well-being and self-satiation. In conclusion, money does not buy happiness, rather it provides short-term relief to financial stresses. What one has in life inclusive of achievements, friendships, and family should be enough to make an individual be contented. They also have to draw from experiences in day-to-day life and pleasures that make them have a positive attitude in life that makes them glad. The life pleasures include having good physical and mental health, having a good family life, and self-satisfaction. The feeling of self-satisfaction is born from the fact that an individual appreciates what they have. For example, having a loving family, good friends and being able to establish social relations are more important in contributing to happiness than having money. The fact that these external and internal dispositions do not have a monetary value supports the fact that money is not as important for one to be happy. One reason is that there is on price for things that matter in life such as good health, love, friendship. On the other hand, having money help relieve financial worries and this leads to happiness to some extent. Money also provides for material things that provide for temporary happiness. Evidence that money does not buy happiness is by comparing income among nations. For example, US have had an increase in income throughout the years, but the increase has not been matched by an increase in happiness. In addition, money can afford you a good education but not job satisfaction, which leads to happiness. These are among the few points that relate money and happiness. References Kesebir, Pelin., & Ed, Diener. “In Pursuit of Happiness: Empirical Answers to Philosophical Questions”. Persecution on Psychological Science 3 ( 2008). 117-123 Print Easterlin, Richard A. “ Does Money Buy Happiness?”. Public Interest (1973) 3-10 Print Lane, Robert E. “ Does Money Buy Happiness?”. Public Interest ( 1993) 56-65 Print Read More