Photo courtesy of Pacdog
What the heck? People choosing to earn less money – in today’s world? You bet. Trent from The Simple Dollar has another great post – this time revolving around money versus happiness. It directly attacks today’s attitude that more stuff equals happiness:
But over the long run, those “nicer” things don’t contribute at all to lasting happiness. Once we have those “nicer” things, we’re right back where we started, wanting something nicer yet. Our Honda becomes the Acura we’ve wanted, and then before long we want a BMW. Our 1,000 square foot house becomes a 1,600 square foot house, then we want a 2,400 square foot house. Our camping vacation in Minnesota becomes a weeklong trek through Yellowstone, then we want weeklong treks through every national park. Our freebie cell phone becomes a Razr, then we want an iPhone.
Once our bases are covered, more of the same doesn’t bring us fulfillment. Instead, fulfillment comes from the things that make you happy and bring you value in life. It might be that your “value” comes from having a big bank account or the corner office – and that’s great.
As always, Trent nails it right on the head. Your thoughts? Share them in the comments!