Does Money Buy Happiness?

According to researchers like Martin Seligman, Daniel Kahneman and Ed Deiner, money may be able to buy happiness, but only to a very limited extent. On the other hand, not having money - that is, a family income of less than 30,000 a year - is related to less happiness. But luckily, once your basic needs are being met, the increase in happiness from say, $31,000 to $131,000 a year, is really not that great! Hard to believe, isn't it? Think of all of the time and energy we spend trying to attain more money, and it really doesn't make that big of a difference! The United States is a very rich country, but the overall level of happiness there is lower than in many poorer countries. So, the question is, if money can't buy happiness, what can? Things that are hard to buy.

Here are some tips for improving your feelings of happiness and well-being:

1. Develop a strong social support network.

Call your family members regularly. Make time to call and see your friends. Get involved in your community - coach a team, volunteer for a charity drive. Get to know your neighbors.

2. Acts of kindness ? random or otherwise.

Do these regularly. Hold the door open for someone. Add change to someone's parking meter. Drop off a meal for a family who is dealing with an illness. There are an infinite number of things that we can do for others every day, at little cost to ourselves, but with great reward.

3. Regularly write down the things that you are grateful for. Have a special place for this - a journal perhaps - and write down the top five things, small or large, that you are grateful for. Do this at least once per week.

4. Eat well and exercise consistently.

Just like your mother told you - lots of dark green and bright orange vegetables, at least 8 glasses of water per day, stay away from processed or fried foods, and eat sweet stuff only in moderation. Exercise does not have to be rigorous, but it should be consistent. Try to do at least 20 minutes of cardio 4-5 times per week. Try parking farther from the entrance, or take the stairs. Every little bit helps.

5. Have tools for coping with stress.

Learn relaxation techniques. Have a stress-free zone (either in your home or in nature) where it is easy for you to relax. Take a bubble bath. Call a friend. Do yoga. Rather than wait until you become stressed, be proactive and develop several relaxation tools that work for you and use them regularly. You'll find that you will get stressed less often this way. Also, remember that caffeine is stress in a cup.

6. Enjoy momentary pleasures.

Stop and smell the roses. Seriously. When you see a flower, don't walk on by. Stop. Look at its beauty. Smell it, and enjoy. When you go for a massage, don't think about all the things you have to do after, just focus on how nice it feels to be pampered at that moment.

7. Do new things.

Try a new sport, go to the theatre, go somewhere new for your summer holidays. Read a new kind of book, eat at a different restaurant, try listening to a different kind of music. We get habituated to the familiar - note the difference between the excitement you feel the first time you experience something new and the fifth time you experience it.

8. Forgive people who have wronged you.

You don't have to forget, just forgive. It takes a lot of energy hanging onto grudges and bad feelings. Think of all the happy things you could do with all that freed up energy!

9. Learn how to be more optimistic.

Yes, you can learn how. You need to pay careful attention to your thoughts so you can inspect them and refute the ones that aren't working for you. This takes practice; don't be afraid to ask for help with this one.

10. Get a coach.

A coach can help you implement systematic (and fun) strategies for improving your happiness and well-being.

It is widely agreed that there is a natural set-point range within which our happiness levels are likely to fall, and this is unique for each of us. But with knowledge and practice, we are able to ensure that we spend most of our time at the uppermost limits of our happiness range. Courses and coaching are available and measurable results have been proven to work. Go to www.get-happier.com for more information on a tele-class series (you just have to get on the phone) that can help you get happier immediately.

Dr. Gayla Swihart DeHart, from Vancouver, Canada, is a Professional Coach with a Ph.D. in Psychology. She helps busy professionals manage stress, improve goal-setting and follow-through, develop emotional intelligence, and increase life and work satisfaction. More information on Dr. DeHart and her services can be found at http://www.AchieveExcellence.ca.

Happier really does mean healthier, researchers say
CTV.ca, Canada - 13 hours ago
Happiness and satisfaction might lead to better health, according to a study released Friday. Not only that, but greater happiness could boost health in as ...
Study: Happy People Tend To Be Healthier AHN
all 9 news articles

Happy Hour: Bitter happiness
National Post, Canada - 3 hours ago
Sure, you think you know what bitterness tastes like. But are you really experiencing it the same way as the person across the table from you? ...

Happiness map is just a joke to us
WalesOnline, United Kingdom - 12 hours ago
According to a so-called happiness map released yesterday, the South Wales Valleys are among some of the unhappiest places to live in the UK. ...
Woman critical after Valleys house fire WalesOnline
all 5 news articles

Washington Post
Can Barack Obama purge America's original sin?
Times Online, UK - 3 hours ago
America was founded on a promise: religious toleration, democratic self-government, human equality, happiness. And in his pitch-perfect peroration at the ...
Video: Obama accepts the Democratic Party nomination - 29 Aug 08 AlJazeeraEnglish
Eugene Robinson: A moment for tears, happiness Memphis Commercial Appeal
The Healing Bomb American Spectator
all 468 news articles

BBC News
Does Powys really hold the recipe for happiness?
WalesOnline, United Kingdom - 18 hours ago
Cliff Arnall, a happiness psychologist living in Brecon, agreed that Powys benefits from a low crime rate and a “safe and stunning natural environment”, ...
Rainy Manchester may need defending, but it scores highly in ... Times Online
Happiness Map Declares Powys The Winner Find a Property
Welsh county top of happiness map CBBC Newsround
Community News Group - Reuters UKall 31 news articles

Why our happiness is taking a dive
The Canberra Times, Australia - Aug 27, 2008
BY MICHAEL RUFFLES For the first time in seven years men are feeling better than women, but overall happiness is taking a dive as inflation hits the hip ...
Inflation deflating women: report ABC Online
Women aren't as upbeat as men Sydney Morning Herald
Rising prices to blame for misery Adelaidenow
The Ageall 163 news articles

Study: Happiness Linked to Better Health
RedOrbit, TX - 7 minutes ago
to assess happiness. They determined satisfaction with life by asking: "All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life? ...

O! That sweet bringer of happiness
Daily News & Analysis, India - 1 hour ago
In Sanskrit, the word ‘modak’ means ‘that which gives or brings happiness’, and the steamed dumpling-like sweet has the power to melt the hardest of hearts. ...
The ubiquitous modak goes lite Daily News & Analysis
all 2 news articles

City ranks 'average' in happiness survey
Lancashire Evening Post, UK - 7 hours ago
See what people in Preston had to say about happiness and what influences theirs. By Josie Hill Preston has been ranked 135th out of 273 in a table of the ...
WE'RE SUCH A HAPPY BUNCH Burton Mail
SMILE, IT REALLY IS 'GRIN' UP NORTH Grimsby Evening Telegraph
all 3 news articles

Paste Magazine
Todd Solondz's Happiness follow-up to see the light of day
Paste Magazine, GA - 3 hours ago
After languishing for a long while without financial backup, his companion piece/sequel to Happiness is finally getting made. ...

Clearing a Path for Happiness

In the United States, the pursuit of happiness is a god-given right and Americans have a document to prove it. But I wonder why the Founding Fathers... Read More

How To Focus On The Positive Qualities Of Your Relationship

The quality of your life has a strong connection with how healthy your relationship with other people is. Do you struggle to make other people see things... Read More

Why Choosing To Be Happy Is Not Enough

I talked in a recent article about how every moment in life gives you a choice. You can choose a path that leads to happiness, or you... Read More

Happy Talk and 3 Simple Secrets to Happiness

What is the one thing you want more than anything else for the people you love the most? If you had a magic wand what would you... Read More

What Does It Take To Be Happy?

What does it take to be happy? In our age of consumerism many will likely tell you that in order to be happy you have to keep... Read More

Our Feelings and Attitudes Around Happily Ever After

Our feelings and attitudes have a huge impact on our ability to achieve 'happily ever after.' Are feelings and attitudes the same thing or different? Does one... Read More

Boosting Your Success with Six Easy Happiness Tips

In what areas of your life would you like to achieve greater success? State-of-mind (attitude towards life and work) absolutely affects your performance and your outcomes. People... Read More

Stop Sickies and Make People Happy At Work

If you're an employer or a manager then work place absence is costing you money, inconvenience, and upsetting your customers. And as we all know, not all... Read More

Get Right! Make a Difference

Want to make a difference? What can one person do? The answer is everything! In its finest sense, the behavior of every one of us is central... Read More

Relationships and the Law of Attraction

This question and answer article was done by Gizelle River, Virtual Administrator and Writer. Visit her website.G: Hi Michael. Today's topic is relationships. In your hundreds of... Read More

What The Bleep Are You So Happy About?

Could you stand to have a lot more happiness in your life? I've tried all kinds of self-help techniques and have suddenly found much more happiness and... Read More

Have You Ever Tasted The Fruit Of Pure Happiness?

Have you ever been really happy? Have you ever tasted the fruit of pure happiness? Have you ever completed a task with that feeling of YES! I... Read More

Are You Doing What You Love Each And Every Day?

It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day stress of everyday life: deadlines to meet, schedules to keep, unexpected expenses, conflicts to resolve, illness of... Read More

Uncovering Your Joy: Using a Personal Journal to Discover a Life Filled with Happiness

Author Tristine Rainer wrote "Happiness within a diary has less to do with the events you encounter in life than with the way you experience the process... Read More

Maybe Money CAN Buy Happiness

Can money buy happiness? It's easy to say no, and probably correct, but that's just a way to stop thinking about the tougher issues. What is your... Read More

Define Me

We've all had a vision or a great idea and had someone who knows better squash it.We've all decided to clear our debts, but been tempted by... Read More

Do You Still Have This Type of Dreams?

Jesus says in Matthew 13:25"But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way"The greatest danger that we face in... Read More

Flowers Truly Reach Your Soul

Flowers are a simple, sincere and unobtrusive way to lift our spirits. They can bring a smile to a tired face or brighten up a room for... Read More

Happiness and Keeping Ahead of the Joneses

Imagine that the Internal Revenue Service in your country claimed that you owe $1000 plus in tax arrears.You dispute this, and you challenge the tax people in... Read More

The Happiness of Others

Is there any necessary connection between our actions and the happiness of others? Disregarding for a moment the murkiness of the definitions of "actions" in philosophical literature... Read More

5 Fabulous B?s for the Happiest You!

Sure it sounds easy? "Be happy." Let's face it there is a little art and a lot of personal measures you can take to reveal true and... Read More

The Elusive Butterfly of Happiness

Are You Chasing the Elusive Butterfly of Happiness?For many people happiness is an elusive butterfly in the garden of life. Imagine a young child in the garden... Read More

Wisdom

What is wisdom? But first, what are the conditions that render it desirable, if not necessary, and what is its essential purpose?Life is a desire to live,... Read More

The American Dream ? At What Cost?

When people are asked, "How many of you are content and happy with what you have?" the reply of an overwhelming majority of people is "Not me."... Read More

Happiness Is In Our Own Hands

Other people can bring tremendous happiness to our lives but we cannot rely on them alone for happiness. Clinging to people because we think our happiness depends... Read More

The Personal Cost of Shyness

Has someone nearby been sending you emails rather than calling or meeting you face-to-face? When you do get together, does she or he stand back, avoid holding... Read More