"If only I had more money I'd be more content and have less problems."
Within the United States, almost everyone is chasing after the illusion of "The American Dream". What once was the pursuit of happiness has now been transformed by society into the pursuit of wealth. Many people believe that their life would be better if only they made more money, or that they'd be more content. And who's to say that they're wrong for thinking this? Looking at today's mainstream pop culture, everything from music to television shows to influential figures show us that having more money is what makes life good. But is this true? To an extent is it, but on the whole, no it is not. Surveys and research show that once people start making that little bit of extra money, they just crave more and more. The happiness that people chase after as they make more and more money slips farther and farther away the faster they run. Having extravagant material objects doesn't fulfill people if they don't (at the tip of the iceberg) have people to enjoy this success with, and doesn't make people happy from moment to moment in life. This is a personal experience, but it's also a statistical one. Princeton University reports that men that make $20,000 spend 34.7% of their time on "passive leisure" - aka non-work related activities - compared to men who made over $100,000 spending only 19.9% of their time doing activities they enjoyed outside of their work (http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S15/15/09S18/index.xml?section=topstories).
So why does making a lot of money matter if you don't even have any time to enjoy it? My personal experience from talking to doctors and CEOs backs up my personal belief of these statistics as well. Five out of six doctors that I've talked to have expressed that the amount of time they spend at their job (and the time it takes away from their personal lives) isn't worth the money they make, and five out of five CEOs had the same responses. Making money to achieve happiness is simply not a valid reason for the chase that has consumed our nation. If you love what you do and the money comes along with it, great. But don't sacrifice what you do love for an empty pursuit of happiness; you've probably already found it where you're at.
It's interesting how you point out the pursuit of happiness has been replaced by the pursuit of wealth. I've never thought about that before, and it's definitely true. What CEO's have you talked to?
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point. What is the worth of making lots of money if you don't have anyone to share it with? I know a lot of adults who were working behind a desk and making a surplus of money. They ended up going back to school to become a teacher because they enjoyed it a lot better. It has to do with balance and your priorities.
ReplyDeleteLike Jeff, I also never considered your point that the pursuit of happiness is now seen almost completely in terms of wealth. Good ideas.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback guys. And jeff, I've talked to executives from a lot of insurance companies (Liberty Mutual) because that's the business my dad was in.
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