How Happiness Happens

I’ve been pondering happiness a lot over the past few weeks. It could be for a number of reasons that happiness has come to mind…

  • We’re a few months away from having our first child! Happy.
  • I just changed jobs at work to a position that is more in line with who I am and what I love. Happy.
  • I published a book on Amazonand am working on a second with two fellow writers. Happy.

I was so interested in happiness that I watched this documentary, aptly called “Happy”.* It chronicles the lives of a cross-section of people and cultures and finds several common denominators among them relating to happiness.

It’s worth your time.

Money and Happiness

Even a smile is an act of charity
Farrukh via Compfight

The documentary found that there is a threshold to money creating happiness…and it’s a surprisingly low threshold.  

Above and beyond meeting basic needs (food, water, shelter), happiness levels for the whole of life don’t generally increase with a higher income.

Although Forbes reported that money could buy happiness, it’s findings were directed toward happiness in vocation, not for all of life in general.

Simply put: money can buy happiness, but only while you’re at work.

Conclusion: since the majority of our time is not spent at work, money doesn’t buy happiness. Continue reading “How Happiness Happens”