Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is a pretty simple question that some psychologists have written about. Can money, lots of it, bring about happiness that perhaps wasn't there in one's earlier life?
Can it (money) be a substitute for something that was missing at some point in one's life? Can it make life so good as to put earlier not-so-good experiences out of sight and out of mind? What do you think?
I suppose it's possible, but it seems to be the case more often than not that it does not. Lack of having to worry about money can definitely bring a peace of mind and make happiness possible. But having everything one can desire doesn't automatically bring about happiness. I would imagine the scores of famous wealthy people who are miserable should be a testament to that--they have whatever they can dream of but many end up killing themselves (and have other signs of unhappiness in life like broken marriages for example). For me, I'm not wealthy by any means, but I currently do not have to worry about money. Is that all that makes me happy? Of course not. But I'd be under a lot more stress and probably would not define myself as being happy if I were not to be in this situation.
And what billionaire if near death wouldn't trade everything for another year of healthy life? Even if as a pauper?
It totally depends. I work with people towards people that are teminaly ill or just elderly ( like really elderly).... some of them are actually very wealthy. Lots of people towards the end are actually more like ...it's about time. It depends on if they are suffering or not of course. I think it really depends.
I grew up pretty poor. 29 cent Banquet cookin' bags were the standard dinner and I started working at 14 to help support my divorced Mom and I. But I wasn't really unhappy, it was just the way it was. Fast forward 40-50 years and I am doing very well financially. I'm not any happier per se, but as someone else mentioned, I don't have the worries that many of my friends do. I don't think about what things cost, I buy what I want, do what I want. I think maybe having money just staves off the ADDED problems that can come along in life. That being said, I would never go back to those cookin' bags.
This is a pretty simple question that some psychologists have written about. Can money, lots of it, bring about happiness that perhaps wasn't there in one's earlier life?
No.
You can use the newfound monetary wealth to have fun (party, travel, skydive or whatever) and access things to give you pleasure (cocaine, heroin, alcohol, lots of sex with different women, purchasing expensive toys like luxury sports cars).
But material wealth and fiat currency can't bring you happiness as in joy.
Quote:
Can it (money) be a substitute for something that was missing at some point in one's life? Can it make life so good as to put earlier not-so-good experiences out of sight and out of mind? What do you think?
If a problem you had was lack of money then the additional and needed amount of money would resolve that particular dilemma.
But no amount of money or material wealth can relinquish the suffering of a deep, embedded emotional wound or a psychological trauma.
I frequently hear about rich celebrities going through more emotional and psychological suffering than I am. Kanye West I believe was institutionalized recently due to a nervous break down. He has more money than I can dream off. Although I don't find his wife one of the sexiest women on earth he does have a wife and one with a big butt.
But I am not jealous of nor envious of Kanye West. He is going through harder times and more suffering than I am. The paradox is that I am wealthier than he is and I have less monetary and material wealth. I have something better. I have Jesus. I have God. And I have plenty of saints and angels in heaven. If I ever really, really, really need something I go to them and I always get it.
Plus, by the standards of Jesus era, I am materially rich anyways.
Hey, you need money to live in a modern day urban society which relies on electronical and paper money largely. And I certainly would not turn down millions of dollars. I could and would access plenty of stuff with it. I would purchase a luxury car probably, maybe the top line Hyundai Genesis of 2017 models. Travel all over the world. Stuff my face full of food whilst I pump iron like a madman. I would do and experience a lot.
But I would not change my position and problems in life where I am at, for those of millions of rich men and women that are suffering deeply inside. I am in fact grateful for some of my problems in life. In a paradoxical and unexpected way they freed me. All the money in the world could not stop Robin Williams from killing himself.
Listen, not too many months ago I was in desperate need of $60. I prayed to God, trusted, and boom, I got a chance to carry another person's furniture moving, with no dolly, no elevator, down 5 or 6 flights of stairs. Walking up and down and then outside in the cold. It was physically killing me. No it wasn't but it felt that way. And boom. Got the exact amount of money I needed. I got God and I'm a pretty rich man. And I'm rather thankful for my problems. I'll be even more thankful when God releaves me of them. But I am on His time He is not on mine.
And what billionaire if near death wouldn't trade everything for another year of healthy life? Even if as a pauper?
True look at Steven Jobs.
Happiness comes from within and how you view/handle things. We can choose to look at the bad side of everything or we can focus on the good even if they are small.
Money can give a person security and less stress about survival. It cannot in itself give you happiness.
I used to think that having a lot of money was important. But now I really don't care about it.
If you have enough to provide the basic needs, having more doesn't improve happiness. But I think it depends on your attitude. I don't get a high out of buying stuff. I learned how to be frugal at a young age. Being frugal gives you freedom.
I think most people work way too much to earn money to buy stuff that they really don't need. I value time and freedom more than money.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.....
