blog




  • Essay / The Truth: Money Can't Buy Happiness

    It's commonly suggested that money buys happiness, and it's easy to pass off this exaggerated phrase as fact. For years, the “American Dream,” first written in 1931 by James Truslow Adams, has been the driving force behind American motivation. JT Adams believed that “life should be better, richer, and fuller for everyone, with opportunities for each based on their abilities or achievements.” " This, coupled with the United States Declaration of Independence, which states that "all men are created equal" with the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", fuels the fire that Americans are motivated by wealth and happiness. But this fire never stops consuming. Americans earn paychecks, spend them on items they enjoy, and then the process repeats, ever decreasing slightly in pleasurable activities with each revolution of the cycle. Happiness itself is an emotion; it's not something you can just buy in a store, like groceries or medicine. Tangible objects cannot fulfill an emotional need, such as happiness, but they slowly create larger emotional voids if they are not satisfied. So in reality, money doesn't buy happiness. This is the complete opposite of the aforementioned statement. Money, or materialistic objects, do not buy happiness because the excitement of purchases fades, because these purchases are distractions that prevent people from achieving their goals and, finally, because the more we has more things, the more they will want more. , tangible objects. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original EssayMost often, people who buy things are not satisfied after a short period of time. The exhilaration of a recent purchase will diminish. The most striking example in America is that of a commercial giant such as Apple which launches a brand new iPhone every year, the prices of which now exceed 750 dollars. Hundreds of thousands of people are lining up and waiting for the new iPhones to come out so they can buy them, even though they did the exact same thing the year before. Apple consumers are unhappy with the iPhone they've owned for a year. They save money for twelve months just to buy it on a brand new cell phone. And it happens every year. This process is known as the hedonic treadmill theory. New York Times author Stephanie Rosenbloom defines hedonic treadmill theory as "a phenomenon in which people quickly become accustomed to changes, great or terrible, in order to maintain a stable level of happiness." » (para. 37). It's like when the human body gets used to the temperature of a room. At first, walking into a cold, air-conditioned room after working in the garden on a hot summer day feels amazing. But after a while, the room starts to get cold and the person has to put on a long-sleeved jacket or shirt to keep warm. This means that when, like most of the American population, consumers make a new purchase, the pleasure of that purchase diminishes. This leads to an individual who keeps buying more things in an attempt to satisfy their own personal desires. Now everyone has monetary goals. Whatever these investment goals are, they can be hindered by what individuals buy. For example, everyone wants to become a millionaire. According to Dave Ramsey's investment calculator, if one invests with an annual growth rate of just ten percent.