Does a truck full of money, a celebrity status, or a designer suit buy you happiness?… and if it does, how long does this moment of happiness last?
Anyone who says money doesn’t buy happiness should talk to a homeless person, and anyone who says money does buy happiness should talk to Bill Gates! The difference in happiness between a person making 5 k a year, and 50 k a year, is huge, as it is a matter of security and covering the basic needs. The difference in happiness between a person making 50 k a year and 50 million a year is minimal. Money does not buy happiness, but it’s a necessity to cover our basic needs as shelter, food, clothing, medical care and so on.
Studies state that intrinsic goals as personal growth, relationships and the desire to help others are major drivers in the pursuit of happiness, and that extrinsic goals as money, image and status make almost no difference!
So how can you apply this knowledge in your pursuit of happiness:
- Focus on your personal growth and always strive to continue learning. Try to be patient about your current job situation, but always be impatient about your growth. If it’s striving to learn a new work-related skill every day or learning a new hobby, personal growth will give you a feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment.
- Understand that a healthy work-life balance leads to success and does not hinder it. While the hotel business like many other industries is a peoples’ business and you can build solid relationships at work, the personal relationships are the ones that matter most.
- The desire to help others is what will be most enriching to you. Focusing your energy on growing and developing your employees selfishly without trying get a credit out of it, and seeing them succeed as of your guidance and mentoring, is most rewarding and will give you a feeling of great happiness.
Understand that while you think it’s important, money, status and image will only bring you momentary happiness, and it will not take long, until the feeling of emptiness returns.
A life full of happiness is that close and if you need more motivation to believe it, I strongly recommend you to watch the documentary ‘Happy‘ (my inspiration for writing this post). Simply click on the image above and you’ll be directed to ‘The Happy Movie‘ website where you can watch the documentary for only 2.99 USD. Enjoy and be happy!