Hint: It's not about the money ...

[Adrian]

As the old song goes: "don't happy, be worry" because no matter how much you have, it will never FEEL enough.

I have an upcoming post on my blog [ http://7million7years.com/ ... shameless, plug, I know ;) ] that will cover this in some detail but it's interesting to note that MSN Money published a survey that basically showed that no matter how much people earn, they say they will need TWICE (to three times) that amount to feel 'secure'.

You earn $30K ... you think bliss is $60k.

You earn $50k ... and it's $100K

... and, so on.

Interestingly, this is the same for multi-millionaires: no matter how many millions 'the Rich' (aren't they from some country called Richistan? Actually, this is the title of the book that I got this nugget from) have, they - when asked - say it would take roughly TWICE what they currently have to fee secure.

Sad.

There is a solution: tie your Number to your Life's Purpose ... then, it's not the money that makes you happy, it's the fact that you are actually doing something meaningful with it :)

Food for thought?

[Lee Martin]

If it was about happiness, I wouldn't be on this journey. I've raised my kids, lived through open heart surgery and have an unbelieveable profession. I retired early, lioving with the love of my life and now started doing something I've never done before. There is no way to be any more happy than I am right now.

For me it's not about the money or happiness, but it is about being able to do more that I ever dreamed possible.

[Debbie]

Adrian I thought the song was "don't worry, be happy"

[Diane]

The pursuit of wealth is a "cultured" society's version of the gladiator ring, and wherever men are found, I am sure you will find some form of competitive one-up-manship activity, be it mud wrestling, alligator wrestling, chess, scooping a story, or having a platinum membershipcard to the inner circle of some elite society.

From an anthopological perspective, I understand this all has to do with Survival of the Species and attracting the best mate to continue the species. Look at Donald Trump. I personally don't know him, but he's surrounded by beautiful women and I am sure that he doesn't necessarily offer more of himself than any other man (what does the song say, "He's just a man") yet there is something about powerful men (in whatever form they have) that tends to attract more females.

In our "advanced" society, men tend to measure their value by their pocketbooks. In some other societies, it might be the amound of security you put around your living space (which is perhaps another way of advertising that you have something worth stealing). What would happiness really entail within this context? Being happy with what you have.

People in midlife ("midlife crises") tend to do a full-life assessment of where they thought they would be at that time, reassessing whether or not they are spending the time where they think they should. They figure they have roughly half a life left to do what they want to do before they die, so this takes many forms. What mark do they want to leave? How do they want to be remembered? What leaf is left unturned?

They are still in pretty good health at this time, finances are usually more settled, if not exorbitant, and in some cases, children are no longer a primary focus (if they've reached the age of maturity).

Adrian's having us assess our Life's Purpose is a way of artificially forcing us to go thru the same process without the crisis. We may find that we are content the way we are, and therefore do not need to feel the urge or competitiveness to be a millionaire. What a gift that would be to give to folks out there who feel they are letting others down by NOT competing! To let them realize that they have all they want and don't need to march to the others' expectations any longer. (Usually takes til we are in our 70s to do that, from what I have observed.)

I won't go into what corporate stock price chasing has done to the emotional well-being of most of the corporate workers and the U.S., but sometimes when we feel stressed, we tend to feed ourselves with comfort food. Perhaps acquisition of more things, or shopping, is the comfort food for many people.

[Adrian]

I think a survey showed that one of the happiest countries in the wold was Bangladesh (or some other well known, really poor, country).

On the other hand, they know that rich people are not generally any happier than poorer people ... but, that rich people are not as unhappy. So, wealth doesn't buy happiness, but it fdoes provide some insurance against unhappiness ...

[steve]

I know people who make little to nothing each moth(year) and they are so much happier than most Americans.
I feel Americans(and maybe some others) are so used to making a decent living , and having just about whatever it is they want,that they have forgotten how to be happy. They only know how to chase more of the things that really don't add up to happiness.
Go to any country that makes (say) 1.50 to 2.00 an hour(compared to our 9.00 to 20.00 and hour) , and your gonna be surprised to find these Poor People , actually know what happiness is .Even with little to live on, and ramshakle homes.

[Scott]

I completely agree. The more you can take the 'money' out of it and make it about the life that you desire to live, then you are on a better track to self fulfillment. I know for me, I took a hard look at this very same concept as it applies to my life and realized that no amount of money would 'be enough' as I got accustomed to it. Rather, I took a different approach and kept 'money' out of my dream lifestyle as I dreamed it, trying not to think so much about the numbers and amounts at first, just my day to day life and what I would need in my life outside of money to really feel fulfilled and it got rid of the insatiable need for bazzillions and bazzillions, etc.. and in my case, actually brought my number down!