Money can't buy Happiness

Are you happy?  It's a question that many face at different intervals of life.  In America, it seems like happiness is when you've succeeded in your career or have the dream home or have the dream life full of financial means that many so desire.  Yet many people aren't happy.  In fact, funds are allocated in areas where one thinks that it will bring happiness yet it doesn't.

In the February 2011 edition of Reader's Digest on page 176, the article How to Succeed at Life from Harvard Business Review brings to light the bottom line on happiness. 

The three questions to ask yourself are:
1) How can I be happy in my work?
2) How can my relationships with my spouse and family provide me happiness over the long haul?
3) How can I stay out of jail?

The key to understanding these three questions is following the path of several HBS graduates.  Some are successful and get it right.  Some don't.  Many end up in divorce court paying for legal fees, alimony and other items not to mention the mental anguish involved.  Some follow a corrupt road and not only break the law but end up in jail.  Some are unhappy because of choices made in life.  Some overlook their children and realize later in life that their relationship is not what they had hoped.  Many did not orginally decide to go down certain paths when they graduated from school, yet present day reality paints a different picture from the person you knew 20 years ago.

Consistently, faith and family are big factors in determining happiness.  Post-911 saw many people change careers or take a job for less pay so that they could be closer to their family.  I guess it is one of the few positives brought to light by that tragedy.  It's true that money can't buy happiness.

In the military, we spouses and families understand this concept even more when going through deployments and sadly welcoming home a casket rather than a warm body. 

To seek happiness, it is important to keep in mind where you allocate your time and resources.  Spending time with my spouse, family, community, church or job is good when well-balanced.  The money-saving part is in the day to day choices made.  Do I choose to spend more time at the office or attend my son's soccer game?  Do we go to church on Sundays or sleep in?  Do I help my spouse do housework or do I dump it all on her?  Do I increase my travel or take a paycut to be at home for family meals?  Do I give back to the community through volunteer service or make a monetary contribution?  Whatever the case may be, your choices will determine a road of happiness or unhappiness.

Another choice not mentioned in this article but is a critical element regarding your happiness is your faith.  I would encourage you if you do not know about Jesus Christ to seek Him and have a relationship with Him. 

How to Get Happy and The Happiness Project illuminate more on this topic.

Copyrighted 2011 by Stephanie Arredondo aka Alfa Sugar