Why Money Can't Buy Happiness

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Recent Headlines from MindPowerNews.com  |  Issue No. 364 |  Tuesday, August 24, 2010
How to Use Mind Power to Create Health, Wealth, Happiness and Success
	Why Money Can't Buy Happiness By Jonah Lehrer / Source: Wired Money is surprisingly bad at making us happy. Once we escape the trap of poverty, levels of wealth have an extremely modest impact on levels of happiness, especially in developed countries. Even worse, it appears that the richest nation in history -- 21st century America -- is slowly getting less pleased with life. (Or as the economists behind this recent analysis concluded: "In the United States, the [psychological] well-being of successive birth-cohorts has gradually fallen through time.") Needless to say, this data contradicts one of the central assumptions of modern society, which is that more money equals more pleasure. That's why we work hard, fret about the stock market and save up for that expensive dinner/watch/phone/car/condo. We've been led to believe that dollars are delight in a fungible form. But the statistical disconnect between money and happiness raises a fascinating question: Why doesn't money make us happy? One intriguing answer comes from a new study by psychologists at the University of Liege, published in Psychological Science. The scientists explore the "experience-stretching hypothesis," an idea first proposed by Daniel Gilbert. He explains "experience-stretching" with the following anecdote: I've played the guitar for years, and I get very little pleasure from executing an endless repetition of three-chord blues. But when I first learned to play as a teenager, I would sit upstairs in my bedroom happily strumming those three chords until my parents banged on the ceiling… Doesn't it seem reasonable to invoke the experience-stretching hypothesis and say that an experience that once brought me pleasure no longer does? A man who is given a drink of water after being lost in the Mojave Desert may at that moment rate his happiness as eight. A year later, the same drink might induce him to feel no better than a two. Read the full story here... The World's First Happiness Map Adrian White, an analytic social psychologist at the University’s School of Psychology, analysed data published by UNESCO, the CIA, the New Economics Foundation, the WHO, the Veenhoven Database, the Latinbarometer, the Afrobarometer, and the UNHDR, to create a global projection of subjective well-being: the first world map of happiness. The projection, which is to be published in a psychology journal this September, will be presented at a conference later in the year. Participants in the various studies were asked questions related to happiness and satisfaction with life. The meta-analysis is based on the findings of over 100 different studies around the world, which questioned 80,000 people worldwide. For this study data has also been analysed in relation to health, wealth and access to education. Whilst collecting data on subjective well-being is not an exact science, the measures used are very reliable in predicting health and welfare outcomes. It can be argued that whilst these measures are not perfect they are the best we have so far, and these are the measures that politicians are talking of using to measure the relative performance of each country. Read the full story here... The 5 Rules of Happiness By Burt Goldman, The American Monk You know when you're happy, and certainly no one has to tell you when you're sad. But what is it that makes a person happy? It is important to realize that what makes you happy might depress another person. There are people, because of guilt, a feeling they do not deserve what they have, or a feeling they will lose what they have that makes them unhappy when they should be happy. Possessions are a poor measure of happiness. Possessions are subjective and relative to the individual and the individual's viewpoint. Instead, we will use a philosophy as an example. This philosophy is about enjoying things you like, avoiding or changing things you do not like, and accepting what you cannot avoid or change by the skillful use of your viewpoint. The use of this philosophy, as embodied in the five rules, will allow you to test many problem areas in your life and find solutions. With this philosophy, you will be well on your way on your pursuit of happiness. Read the 5 Rules here... The Money Winning Brain By Tony Fitzpatrick / Source: Futurity.org When there's money on the table, some people always find a way to win. New research suggests that a specific brain area helps "money players" use the prospect of success to better prepare their thoughts and actions -- and increase the odds of winning reward. The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, identified a brain region about two inches above the left eyebrow that sprang into action whenever study participants were shown a dollar sign -- a predetermined cue that a correct answer on the task at hand would result in a financial reward. Using what researchers believe are short bursts of dopamine -- the brain's chemical reward system -- the brain region then began coordinating interactions between the brain's cognitive control and motivation networks, apparently priming the brain for a looming "show me the money" situation. "The surprising thing we see is that motivation acts in a preparatory manner," says Adam Savine, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate in psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. "This region gears up when the money cue is on." Read the full story here... How to Create Complete & Perfect Freedom By Dr. Robert Anthony, Creator of The Secret of Deliberate Creation Imagine doing what you want, when you want, with whom you want, where you want, for as long as you want, without ever having to answer to anyone… Let me ask you a question. How would you know if you were "rich"? That may seem like a stupid question. You would probably reply, "I would know if I was rich if I had no bills, or I had a lot of money in the bank, or had income producing investments or business, or I could buy whatever I want without having to go into debt". What Are True Riches? If you gave any of the above answers you would be partially correct. Most people perceive wealth or riches as the ability to be financially secure. However, true riches offer an even greater benefit than financial security A person who is truly rich knows they are truly rich when they have achieved the most valuable asset of all: PERSONAL FREEDOM! This is true wealth -- to have complete FREEDOM to live life on YOUR terms. Read the full story here... More Recent Headlines from Mind Power News Someday Hackers Might Control Your Brain How to Direct the Power of Your Magnetic Thoughts Dissecting the Buying Brain The 7 Ancient Secrets for Perfect Health Sex Boosts Brain Power You Create and Control Everything In Your Life Latest Study Claims Prayers Can Heal Follow Mind Power News on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/MindPowerNews
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