"Even some of those in the top percentile of earners often feel like they don't
have enough money," says Vermeeren, an international speaker who consults with
celebrities, business executives and professional athletes.
"The math is simple: More money does not equal more happiness. It's our
attitude toward money, not the amount, that influences our happiness the most."
Happiness researchers Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, professors at the
Harvard Business School, recently published research indicating that it's not
money that makes people happy, nor the things people buy with it. Rather, it's
the experiences one has that ultimately account for happiness.
"How you experience your money on a day-to-day basis is what matters,"
Vermeeren says. "If the software running in your brain is constantly reinforcing
the message, 'it's not enough,' then that is likely how you will see yourself
and experience your life -- as 'not enough.' "
Vermeeren reviews the three fallacies of abundance as it relates to
happiness:
The feeling that we deserve or are owed a
certain amount of wealth will always make us unhappy with whatever we have.
While we are entitled to certain human rights, those do not include a
winning lottery ticket. In reality, we are not owed any amount of abundance
and, in fact, should count ourselves lucky if we're able to meet our basic
needs; many people in the world are not able to. More of us, however, would
be happier simply appreciating what we have.
The result of our labors is
money. Money is a means to an end, not an end in itself. This can be a
challenge to keep in mind since so much of our lives is spent in the pursuit
of money. We go to school and work to support ourselves and our families. We
see things we want, and we know we need more money for them. Study after
study shows, however, that what really makes us happy is what we do and who
is with us when we do it, not how much money we spend.
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We'll be happiest when we finally reach
our goal. We are happiest when we are progressing toward a
goal. When we lose sight of our goal, veer off the path toward
our goal and even achieve our goal, we're less happy. Rather
than setting one goal and deciding you will be happy when you
meet it, you'll be most happy if you continually set goals and
relish your journey toward them.
___
Doug Vermeeren is an internationally renowned public speaker,
author, movie producer and director. His life-coaching strategies
help those from all walks of life, with clients including business
executives, celebrities, professional athletes and more. Throughout
the last decade, Vermeeren has conducted extensive firsthand
research into the lives of more than 400 of the world's top
contemporary achievers, making him a sought-after commentator on
news outlets including ABC, FOX, CNN and more. He has written three
titles contributing to Guerilla Marketing, the best-selling business
series in publishing, which is included reading in the Harvard
Business School. His documentaries include the award-winning film
"The Opus," which has been published by Random House as a book in 23
countries. Vermeeren's latest film, "The Gratitude Experiment," has
received critical acclaim. For more information, visit
www.douglasvermeeren.com.
[Text from file received from
News and Experts]
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