http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/09/24/imo-view-what-your-price-tag-happiness.html
There are no price tags on love nor happiness, but it doesn't stop people from trying to buy them. (NA)
Can happiness be bought? Well... It's one grueling question which most people surprisingly have an unanimous answer "NO." Happiness has no price tag. It is something money can't buy. Happiness lies in the heart. But strange as it may seem, two Princeton University researchers Daniel Kahneman, the 2002 winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, and Angus Deaton, past president of the American Economic Association, disagree with this assumption. Who says money can't buy happiness? Published in 2010 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, their study revealed that money makes people more satisfied with their lives overall. Happiness comes with a $75,000 price tag. The study shows that such a price tag correlates with on how people evaluated their day-to-day happiness and their overall satisfaction with life. (http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2010/09/study-says-$75,000-can-buy-happiness.html)
For that reason, people never stop trying to buy happiness. An ancient Roman proverb says “Money is like sea water. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.” This adage finds particular meaning with the pursuance of happiness when people make comparison with the wrong ideals. Let’s say, a man who believes his happiness lies in the form of status or rank, he will pursue it at any cost. How often we hear people throw off their money to secure a governmental top post. Once, they secure the power, it’s harder for them to relegate it. They will hold it closer, afraid of losing it. It becomes an infectious addiction. Even, in ancient China various emperors sought the fabled elixir with varying results, believing it would keep them immortal and happy. They were willing to pay a great price just to find it. In the end, such illusion cost their life. People tend to keep looking for the things they don’t have because they believe if they have them, they will find complete happiness. Sometimes, such drive becomes a fantasy that corrupts their well-beings. Sadly, once they have them, they find out that the things they are after don’t give happiness as they assume. It’s because they keep make comparison with the wrong ideals. Inappropriate comparison will lead us to unhappiness. It’s how we see our lives in such comparison that fail us to recognize the ‘precise dose of happiness’ we have to consume to reach our equilibrium. Each individual has his/her own balanced and proportionate happiness. It is how we identify, understand, then be content with our own special ingredients that define our happiness.
Let us say if we compare our bodies with those of supermodels, our intelligence with those of genius, our bank accounts with those of billionaires, our job with those of celebrities, our aging partner with those of youngsters, or our house with those of social media tycoons, then it probably will ruin our perception of our happiness. But if we’re a little bit wiser, and choose to see our lives in a more realistic light, we will recognize just how much we have to be happy about.
So, you may agree or disagree that happiness has a price tag. One thing for sure, it is you yourself and NO ONE ELSE can measure your level of happiness. Dare to name your price tag for happiness??? :-)
There are no price tags on love nor happiness, but it doesn't stop people from trying to buy them. (NA)
Can happiness be bought? Well... It's one grueling question which most people surprisingly have an unanimous answer "NO." Happiness has no price tag. It is something money can't buy. Happiness lies in the heart. But strange as it may seem, two Princeton University researchers Daniel Kahneman, the 2002 winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, and Angus Deaton, past president of the American Economic Association, disagree with this assumption. Who says money can't buy happiness? Published in 2010 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, their study revealed that money makes people more satisfied with their lives overall. Happiness comes with a $75,000 price tag. The study shows that such a price tag correlates with on how people evaluated their day-to-day happiness and their overall satisfaction with life. (http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2010/09/study-says-$75,000-can-buy-happiness.html)
For that reason, people never stop trying to buy happiness. An ancient Roman proverb says “Money is like sea water. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.” This adage finds particular meaning with the pursuance of happiness when people make comparison with the wrong ideals. Let’s say, a man who believes his happiness lies in the form of status or rank, he will pursue it at any cost. How often we hear people throw off their money to secure a governmental top post. Once, they secure the power, it’s harder for them to relegate it. They will hold it closer, afraid of losing it. It becomes an infectious addiction. Even, in ancient China various emperors sought the fabled elixir with varying results, believing it would keep them immortal and happy. They were willing to pay a great price just to find it. In the end, such illusion cost their life. People tend to keep looking for the things they don’t have because they believe if they have them, they will find complete happiness. Sometimes, such drive becomes a fantasy that corrupts their well-beings. Sadly, once they have them, they find out that the things they are after don’t give happiness as they assume. It’s because they keep make comparison with the wrong ideals. Inappropriate comparison will lead us to unhappiness. It’s how we see our lives in such comparison that fail us to recognize the ‘precise dose of happiness’ we have to consume to reach our equilibrium. Each individual has his/her own balanced and proportionate happiness. It is how we identify, understand, then be content with our own special ingredients that define our happiness.
Let us say if we compare our bodies with those of supermodels, our intelligence with those of genius, our bank accounts with those of billionaires, our job with those of celebrities, our aging partner with those of youngsters, or our house with those of social media tycoons, then it probably will ruin our perception of our happiness. But if we’re a little bit wiser, and choose to see our lives in a more realistic light, we will recognize just how much we have to be happy about.
So, you may agree or disagree that happiness has a price tag. One thing for sure, it is you yourself and NO ONE ELSE can measure your level of happiness. Dare to name your price tag for happiness??? :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment