Read an article in the Business section recently about how money can buy happiness. It happened to be on the same page as an article about how the economy is stalling. Kind of ironic. This economy seems to be one step forward, two steps back. The study about happiness was the largest study ever done to examine the relationship between income and well-being. It included more than 100,000 people in 132 countries. The conclusion? Making significant money makes people more likely to say they are happy with their lives overall, regardless of age, sex or geographic location. Having money, apparently, makes you feel more satisfied with your life overall, rather than making you "feel good", in other words, having positive feelings. Positive feelings (more of a day-to-day reaction) is affected by factors like: feeling respected, being in control of your life and having a good social support of friends and family.
"Money can make you feel better in a limited way," said Barbara Fredrickson, a psychology professor at University of North Carolina. "But positive feelings like enjoyment and laughing can do a whole lot more." So what is the lesson to be learned, the upside to this down economy? Even if you can't improve your wealth by leaps and bounds at this time, you can create positive feelings each day. Do something you love, that gives you respect and control of your life and keep a tight circle of friends and family for support. Namaste.
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