Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
The closing speaker for the 2013 Nexus Global Youth Summit at the United Nations, Michael Norton, co-author of the book,
Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, talked about the relationship between money and happiness. His research team at the Harvard Business School performed a series of experiments in which they gave individuals walking down the street, on sports teams and on sales teams, envelopes with $20 bills. Half of them were told to spend the money on themselves in the next five hours, and the other half were told to spend it on someone else or on a team mate. Then at the end of 5 hours the researchers called and asked them if they were happier, less happy or the same as they had been five hours before.
Every time the experiment was conducted whether in the US, the UK or in Uganda, the results were the same. The individuals who were told to spend the money on themselves were no more happy or less happy than before -- their level of happiness did not change. Those individuals who were told to spend it on someone else, ended up being more happy than before. Interestingly, when individuals were told to spend the money on team mates, not only did the individuals spending the money feel happier, but also their teams performed better over a sustained period of time.
Norton's conclusion is that money can bring you happiness if you spend it on someone else. Giving money away is more satisfying than spending it on yourself.
Heartfelt best wishes to you and
yours this Memorial Day, 2020
Comments (2)
Displaying All 2 CommentsOMEP-USA
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Perhaps this is a false dichotomy?! I give money away (grandchildren, great-grandchildren, 3 alumni associations, various museums, child care programs) but I also spend some on myself (personal things). I spend a lot on professional items (books, DVDs, copying for presentations, my SUV when it needs it). So, like in some many things in which we are asked to choose, the answer is "it's both." PS I like the part about giving to a teammate.
CSBC
Denver, United States
I find this rather strange. What does it mean to 'give something to oneself?' For so many people in the world, including too many in the early childhood field, giving something to oneself means proving food, clothing, and shelter. One of the things I had to learn as a young man (because of my background) was that one should not volunteer to do something until one's basic needs have been met. Thus giving to oneself may mean purely survival!
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