But Will it Make You Happy?

If you are able to get to this link to a recent article in the New York Times, I highly suggest the read. The article entitled "But Will it Make You Happy?" by Stephanie Rosenbloom is a good reminder for all of us about how we seek happiness.

My favorite quote from the article is the title of a paper written by researchers at Harvard and UVA: “If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy Then You Probably Aren’t Spending It Right.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/business/08consume.html?src=me&ref=homepage

What I love about this is that it is a perfect dose of advice for all of us who continue to be let down by the promises of our "You Can Have Whatever You Like" American Dream (sorry, T-Pain). My Spanish language teacher in Guatemala told me several times in our discussions (en Español) that anyone who had money and wasn't happy was crazy. If you saw where he lived and heard his life story, you would probably agree with his statement, regardless of how cynical he was being at the time.

In this article from the Times, the focus is on spending you money on experiences rather than things, because experiences will have a far more lasting impact, and the gratification is not instantaneous and (therefore) fleeting. So the next time we start wishing we had more money to do this or that, maybe we can just think about what it is we really want to do with our money, and spend less of it on the stuff that we think we ought to have.

On that note, I am gearing up for a two-week trip to Washington state filled with reconnecting with college friends, a 5- to 6-day long hiking trip in the North Cascades, and a two-night long Dave Matthews Band concert with a friend I haven't seen in years... I am looking forward to the memories already.

More to come on all that soon.