Being rich and famous does not create happiness according to this ongoing study for 75+ years. What does? It does make sense.
https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_wal...ss?language=en
Being rich and famous does not create happiness according to this ongoing study for 75+ years. What does? It does make sense.
https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_wal...ss?language=en
Last edited by razz; 2-20-20 at 7:36am.
As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
I had a long discussion one night with a neurosurgeon about money. He wanted to know how I could possibly survive on $30k/year. I asked him if he even knew what that was? Huh? So I explained the purchase price of my home and the monthly payment ror 30y as well as that of my car. I then pointed out that he had just written a check for a car that was $10k more than my house.Originally Posted by razz
This went on into "the more you have the more you get" referring to really nice freebies and perks in life. It was actually a very good conversation on my end. At the point in time he had divorced for the 2nd time.
In ending the conversation I told him "I'll take the love of my husband for life over all your money". He vehemently disagreed. This was in the mid-80s. Last I heard he was on divorce #4 and plenty of money.
I truly believe that once the threshold of all needs being met for roof/food/safety, that the quality of happiness doesn't rise much whether it's an extra 5k or 500k. I think people confuse filling wants, and having bigger and better stuff with happiness. Although we are certainly grateful to have zero debt, I don't think we are happier than we were 20 years.
How to be happy, presented in less than three minutes.
Up to $75K in annual income happiness increases as income goes up. After that more money does not make you happier.
I have known people in or from poor counties who were probably happier than the average American with all our wealth.
This video completely supports the Roseto Effect, which states that community has a much larger impact on health and longevity than most widely-accepted health measures. In this town, most residents smoked, drank, and never watched macronutrient ratios or calories, and they were amazingly long-lived.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseto_effect
In terms of the money aspect of happiness, I've known for a really long time that money does not necessarily equal happiness. This video is no surprise to me. I agree with Yppej, I think that stats say that 75k is the magic threshhold--in other words, as long as your basic survival is ensured, additional income yields diminishing returns in terms of happiness. What's that famous Brazilian parable?....
There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village.
As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish.
The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?”
The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.”
“Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished.
“This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said.
The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”
The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.”
The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman.
“I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.”
The fisherman continues, “And after that?”
The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.”
The fisherman asks, “And after that?”
The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!”
The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”
"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
www.silententry.wordpress.com
The Roseto effect should be studied and emulated everywhere.
The Brazilian fisherman has exactly the right idea, in my opinion.
Love this! Thanks, oldhat.
Great story, Catherine!
That was a blast from the past--but still relevant.
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