Opinion: Happiness is not about Spending - by Maryam Hedayat

It is human nature or human tendency of having no satisfaction. We get more still we crave for further more. We are never gratified with what we have at present, instead we always desire for better and upgraded.

How much money do we really need to be happy? And how much do we need to spend to be joyful?

Most of us believe that once we reach a certain financial target we will be happy and not want more, but the fact is that nothing is ever enough for us as human beings.

We are all driven by goals in life. Unfortunately many of the values are given to us by television and advertising.

We no longer strive to be strong or thoughtful, noble or bold but have our identities and status created for us by the car we drive and the brand of face cream we buy.

According to an ancient philosophy, we are living in a culture that is 'doomed to be dissatisfied'.

In fact, spending too much can make us happy for a short time. It is like a festival day when we were nine or ten. We play with that new toy for a day or two then it just becomes one of the many toys we have, nothing special.

In genuine, money works the same way, another day another new toy. Most people spend more than they earn , and at the end they burden themselves with debt and stress, they actually does not know that happiness can never be bought.

Attaining things like houses and cars only have a temporary effect on happiness. People's desires for material possessions turn up at the same, or greater rate, than their salaries. Again, this means that despite considerably more luxurious possessions, people end up no happier

Through the focusing illusion we convince ourselves that satisfaction equals happiness. Unfortunately it does not. Even though we appear to have everything, we are left feeling that something is missing, but are unable to identify what that thing is.

Desire is unending and leads to suffering. Everybody knows that spending more than the making for an extended period of time leads to financial failure.

In the old days people brought their paychecks to the bank, deposited most of the money and pocketed the rest in cash. The cash was supposed to last until the next check. If it didn't, it was an obvious cue that too much money was being spent.

Fast-forward to these days when paychecks are deposited electronically and we stuff our pockets with debit and credit cards. Beaten-up cash bills and heavy coins never dirty our hands. Unfortunately, it makes too easy to bust the budget.

Despite modern conveniences and increased prosperity, happiness individually or as a society, has not increased in any way.

Contrary to popular belief, we don't need more money to spend more to be happy. In fact, spending less can actually make us happier.

Obviously, living carefully, doing away with the expensive and the unnecessary, may? require? giving up any number of attractive, comfortable? extras? such as high-end? new cars, excessively large? homes in exclusive neighborhoods,? designer? clothing, and branded items.?

Further to add,? giving up expensive,? unnecessary lifestyle choices willingly can actually? bring happiness.

Essentially happiness is a state of mind that can be enjoyed, regardless of economic status.?. There is even evidence that?materialism has no guarantee to keep us happy.

In fact, having positive experiences lead to much more happiness than acquiring redundant things. We need to manage our expectations with what resources we have.
To sum up, it is not the mere spending that brings happiness in life rather it is how we manage to spend what we really need that brings aesthetic experiences of accomplished fulfillment.

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Source: http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=5&i=9232

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