Month: November 2012

168 Reasons To Give Thanks

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The power of thanks can be a key to happiness.

Whether you give thanks regularly or just on special occasions, taking time to be grateful reaps many rewards.

Gratitude is both a skill and a personality trait – with time, it develops and matures.

Six months ago when I began my journey, each night was a struggle – it took an effort to come up with things to write in my gratitude journal.

In the spirit of this holiday, I wanted to see how much that had changed.

I just spent the past 2 hours in intense meditation, coming up with as many reasons to be thankful as I could.

There was only one criteria – did thinking about the item generate feelings of positive emotion? If yes, it was put on the list.

I ended up 168 items. Wow, does 2 hours of continuous gratitude practice feel great!

But just two or three items is enough. If you're feeling adventurous, write a handwritten thank you note.

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Money Secret #1: Buy Many Small Pleasures

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Can money buy happiness?

It can. At least in some ways.

Financial security from money management reduces divorce rates, increases life span, and just plain feels good.1,2,3

Wealth purchases life-changing vacations, variety – the spice of life, and free time – with which to actually live life.

Despite this, the average person with a family income greater than $75,000 is just 12% happier than the average person with a family income of $30,000.4 They've adapted. To them, a juicy steak tastes just a bit better than $1 ramen tastes to me.

The common refrain of money doesn't buy happiness is true, but with a caveat – for the average person, money doesn't buy happiness.

There are outliers – people who have very little money but smile like kings, and people who double their income, and in the process, also double their happiness.

I am not one of those people. Most people aren't.

After all, dozens of studies have shown it mostly true – for the average person, money doesn't buy happiness.5

There's a fix. We just need to stop being average.

Daniel Gilbert, the author of Stumbling on Happiness, says,

If money doesn't make you happy, then you probably aren't spending it right.5

Money does buy happiness, but only when used in particular, often counter-intuitive ways.

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