Money and Happiness

People have a very complicated relationship with money and material possessions.  It seems that so many people believe money is the key to their happiness.  The more money they get, the happier they will be.

Research doesn’t support that contention.  The magic number seems to be around $75,000 per year.  If you are making less than that you likely aren’t happy.  But, if you make more than that your happiness doesn’t increase much, if at all.

This seems like a rather concrete conclusion that may overlook individual circumstances.  Someone living in Manhattan is not likely to be very happy if she is making $75,000 per year.  That isn’t enough money to rent even the smallest apartment.  At the same time, someone living in Appalachia making that much money may be able to afford a rather lavish lifestyle.

What may be true is that people don’t like being anxious and not having enough money to live a reasonably comfortable life is a common source of anxiety.  I certainly know this is true for me.  I spent 24 years in school of some sort.  In addition to making hardly any money, I accumulated substantial student loans as well as a wife who didn’t work outside the home and four children. When I finally entered the workforce, I was consumed with worry about how I would provide for my family and especially about how I would be able to send my children to college.

Worrying undermined not only my happiness but also my quality of life.  I made stupid decisions.  I worked way too much and pushed myself until I completely burned out.

Part of my reason for writing The Circle Blueprint is to help people untie their wealth and material success from their happiness and the quality of their life.  I have come to see that building a strong and productive life should be the dog and money should be the tail.  If you focus on the dog, the tail will follow.