Money cannot buy happiness free essay sample

Happiness is defined as an emotional state that indiciates our satisfaction with life; a measure of how favorable we perceive the overall quality of our lives to be. Nowadays all we ever worry about is getting dressed to go to school OR work and driving through traffic in the car that we’re STILL paying for to EVENTUALLY get to the job that we need TO PAY for the clothes, AND the car, AND the house that lays vacant all day, so that we can eventually afford to live in it. People have many stresses in life, however, most of them seem to revolve around money-Whether that be not having enough money or having all the wealth in the world is not significant as both lead to problems and stress- This is clearly shown by the 76% of American families that are living pay check to pay check and the long list of famous celebrities such as BraddPitt and AngelinaJolie, that have battled some serious depression! You probably think that the happiest people live in the more wealthier countries such as Australia, Canada the US, but survey’s have actually found that the world’s happiest people reside in Portorico and Mexico- Portorico has one of the highest murder rates as well as double digit unemployment; Mexico also has very high crime rates and continues to fight the war against drugs and gang violence. Canada was rated 17th in the world in a survey regarding the happiness of the popoulation- It showed that 75% of Canadians were happy on a daily basis, which sounds like a pretty good stat, but you’re probably wondering, who ranked NUMBER 1? Iceland, a country that has a BELOW-AVERAGE NET-DISPOSABLE INCOME and experienced a finaaaaancial meltdown that was FAR WORSE than the one in the U. S. had the happiest population, where 94% of its people were genuinely and consistently happy with their lives. Could this ALL be because of our differences in media consumerism and capitalism? YES. So, does money really buy happiness? NO. Research also shows that Nigerians are the most optimistic people in the world yet they don’t have a lot to be thankful for. Out of 175 countries, Nigeria is ranked 152 for life expectancy, health, education, standard of living literacy. Nigerians also live in one of the most corrupt country’s with a very unreliable government, high voiolence rates, and human life that is considered cheap, YET, despite this all, they are the most optimistic people in the world. As the saying goes, â€Å"HAPPY PEOPLE ARE THE HOPE-FILLED, â€Å" or in other words, THE OPTIMISTIC. † *These results simply defy the conventional thought that money buys happiness. Journalist Richard Urngeburg once said that, â€Å"We work hard, earn lots of $, HAVE THE ABILITY to spend on expensive luxaries such as flatscreen tv’s, SUV’s. We indulge, we gratify, therefore, we expect to be the happiest damn people on the planet, SO why aren’t we? Well, by actively living a decent material life with all basic needs PLUS more, numerous studies have found, will actually result in the adjustment our expectations to think that we need EVERYTHING that we don’t ALREADY have. Due to the media and this obsession that $money gives people happiness, we begin to think that EVERYTHING is a basic need. In today’s world, technology such as cell phones are even considered BASIC needs†¦ At first when I heard this, I thought, psht, I’m pretty sure I could get through a day JUST FINE without my cell phine, but lets be real here. †¦. Picture a day WITHOUT your cellphone†¦ -All those missed calls texts; it feels like you’re just totally disconnected from the world sometimes and like EVERYTHING that you do is just SOO much more complicated†¦. Or how about having to walk to school or work and realizing that you forgot your ipod at home making the walk automically seem so much longer and boring†¦ *So since when did all this technology start to take over and dictate our level of happiness? We’ve become so mindless have allowed ourselves to believe that IN ORDER TO BE HAPPY and fit in with today’s world, that we need the most up-to-date versions of EVERYTHING *It is definitely important to have money and the things that it can buy, BUT it’s even MORE important to make sure that we haven’t become COMPLETELY trapped by the media and lost the things, meaning the NON-materialistic, that money simply CANNOT buy. According to a world values survey, Media consumerism IS actually a leading factor of WHY, ALTHOUGH money can buy us many, many things, happiness can never TRULY be one of them. So if it isn’t really $ that makes people happy, then what do all of these countries that I mentioned earlier have in common that makes their popoulations sooo much happier than others? – Well, they have a strong sense of community, as well as greatly enthuastic celebrations; celebrations that encourgae them to give thanks show appreciation for the simple things that they share, such as talent, culture, love eachother. Portoricans have 500 public festivals a year! Mexicans Nigerians also celebrate many communal occasions and mark them with colorful attire, songs dance. IT IS THESE types of *societal relationships, interdependence, and community sharing that promote positive feelings within the greater public. ****It has been shown that by taking better care of ourselves, we naturally begin to care more about others. This happiness is infectious, hence why the saying â€Å" happiness comes from people â€Å" is absolutely true!!! Being happy around others enjoying the simple joys of life allows them to feel and do the same!!! So yes, there are many things in life that $money will definitely buy and fix very easily, however it appears that happiness can NEVER be one of them, no matter how therapeutic it may seem sometimes. For those of you that still DISAGREE and feel that numbers matter, then just look at them for yourselves. If you want to live a happier life, it is not something that you can just go to the store and buy nor is it something that can be learned. *It has to be something that YOU truly want to experience and endure; it requires the putting forth of PERSONAL EFFORTS and the INNER DESIRE to actually want to be happy make THOSE AROUND YOU happy as well! Money can replace something like a car or a house, but it can’t replace a friendship, or a relationship, or even a day at the beach IN THE SUN with your best friend. SO, please, don’t think that your day just got â€Å"so much more worse â€Å" because you lost your cell phone; ALL it means is that you can finally get to appreciate the atmosphere around you more and enjoy life as it was truly made to be like. Don’t let ANYTHING, BUT yourself, dictate your day and level of happiness; make your day what YOU want it to be because a TRULY happy person is one who can actually enjoy the scenery outside while on a detour. ** Happiness is not money, it’s not a tv nor an SUV; happiness is what YOU make it. Happiness is priceless.