Money and Happiness

Does money make you happy?

While a lack of needed cash can make you unhappy, stressed, anxious, and limit your freedom, how much money is enough to meet your needs and make you happy?

Many people, perhaps including yourself, might answer that question with, “as much as I can get.” However, the science of positive psychology has found that happiness does not necessarily come from having money in and of itself.

Martin Seligman and the Institute for Positive Psychology have studied what it takes for people to become truly and sustainably happy, not just happy in a given moment. They discovered that lasting happiness actually comes from:

• Enjoying and being challenged by the work you do
• Having close relationships with family and friends
• Having good health
• Having a positive and optimistic outlook on life
• Having a strong belief in yourself

None of these lasting characteristics of happy people requires a large amount of cash, an investment portfolio, or multiple credit cards.

There is, however, a lower limit. If you have very little money over a long period, you will have a hard time maintaining the factors necessary for happiness. BUT … having more than enough money will not, by itself, increase any of them.

To have a business that makes you truly wealthy, you not only need cash, but you also need good health, love, interesting work, a belief in yourself, and a positive outlook on life. Can you see how important it is for you to choose the right business for you? You need a business that will provide all the factors of happiness for yourself along with the income you need to live your ideal life.

If this idea makes sense to you, read my book.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash