Fact or Myth? Will More Money Make You Happier?
Just about everyone has had this thought on more than one occasion. More money means more happiness! Today I want you to question this statement and think about what it means to you. Do you believe that more money will make you happy? Are you always striving to find the next job that has a higher hourly rate of pay or a higher salary? Maybe more money is not actually what you want. What you should be striving for is happiness!
Money and Happiness
There have been so many studies on this debate of money = happiness, and it’s a widely spoken topic amongst even the highest paid CEO’s. But time and time again the studies all say the same thing. Money can bring you happiness to a point. The key here being that if more money means bringing you from a level of poverty, to the middle class, you will gain happiness. After that, more money in the lives of most only means purchasing empty, materialistic items or even more stress. Managing millions of dollars is no easy feat and generally requires paying experts to keep track of it for you!
- A 2018 study from Purdue University actually found that happiness levels decreased when people earned more than $105 000 a year!
Work and Happiness
Work and money come hand in hand, but quite often I find it is not the money or lack of it that is making people unhappy. If you got paid more money at your current J-O-B do you think it would make you happier? I’m sure it would momentarily but the excitement would disappear quite quickly! What makes you unhappy is the environment you work in, the lack of freedom, the feeling of being only a number, and probably the lack of meaningful work!
- A survey taken by Better Up Labs in the USA found that 9/10 people would swap up to 23% of their monetary earnings for meaningful employment!
Personally, I say MYTH!
My experience with a shitty job and making more money then, compared to now, has shown me personally that money does not mean happiness.
Material Items - I used to purchase items to compensate for the lack of meaningfulness and happiness at work, which brought me a temporary joy but was gone the moment I went back to work.
Travel - I would spend, spend, spend to travel because it meant keeping me away from the awful factory I worked in! I was always looking for that next trip to get me out of the country to avoid the phone calls Sunday dread!
Freedom of TIME
This is something that I have come to appreciate so much since starting my own business and escaping the crap that is shift work! I currently am not making as much money as I was while working at my previous job, but I have the freedom to schedule the time I work in my business freely! Leaving me with time to do things that are valued to me, and be with the people who I love! It has given me the freedom to work from our lake house as well! Which was something we financially achieved while being self-employed! This goes to show that having control of your money, making goals for your money is way more important than having MORE of it. I am 100% happier making less money, with more freedom of time and the ability to work from the places I love, while doing what I LOVE.
What I love is helping me 5-10 years ago escape the shit J-O-B I hated! If you are feeling trapped in an unfulfilling job, wanting to start a business of your own doing the thing you love and ready to take the leap, CLICK HERE to book a 30 minute no charge Discovery Call. I would love to help you kick ass at your goals and hand in your resignation letter to find happiness.
