An international team of researchers led by Jordi Quoidbach report in the August 2010 issue of Psychological Science that, although wealth may grant us opportunities to purchase many things, it simultaneously impairs our ability to enjoy those things.
The researchers argue that because wealth allows people to experience the best that life has to offer, it ultimately undermines their ability to savor life’s little pleasures. Once we’ve had the opportunity to drink the finest French wines, fly in a private jet, eat foie gras with edible gold leaf, and watch the Super Bowl from a box seat, coffee at Starbucks with a friend, a sunny day after a week of rain, or an unexpected Reese’s peanut butter cup on our desks just doesn't provide the same jolt of happiness it used to.
So if you are unhappy and think that money is the answer to your problems – think again! Even if you were to win a lottery tomorrow, the pleasure that accompanies it wont last long. Pretty soon, you’ll be back to your original self. There is a saying that “if you are not happy here and now, you never will be” There is a lot of depth behind this statement.
A penniless child drenched in the rain can be happy at the prospect of a real shower after days of scorching heat while a rich man may view the same rain from his window reminiscing why he had lost his lady love. The idea is to understand that happiness cannot be achieved by anything external irrespective of whether it is money or any other material things. Happiness is something that is inside of you and not outside, and accessing it just requires a little bit of training.
An increase in money inflow does not bring proportional happiness with it.
Sources and Credits: Psychology today