The Recipe for Happiness

Spending money on things, no matter how extravagant, leaves us wanting more, while spending on experiences, especially with other people, yields long-term fulfillment. Money has often been perceived as the key to satisfaction in life. Though money does provide basic needs, it doesn’t buy true happiness. The lavish and costly materialistic things in life only keep people content for a short period of time. However, good health, self-satisfaction, and freedom will supply you with an abundance of joy and contentment in life.

Good Health To begin with, there are people in the world that could only dream of being healthy. For example, Magic Johnson, former NBA basketball player containing a significant amount of wealth, is currently diagnosed with HIV. Though he is successful financially, his disease not only causes problems physically, but also emotionally. One of the emotional aspects Mr. Johnson is forced to face is the judgmental opinions of society around him, making it a challenge to live well off in life. Recently, Donald Sterling, previous owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, spoke down upon Johnson in a recording that went viral. Sterling negatively expressed how Johnson’s HIV disease is an appalling influence on the youth and how he shouldn’t be considered a role model because of his poor decisions during his younger years. Similarly, people with disabilities must also deal with the same struggles and disadvantages in their everyday course. These special individuals have to make daily adjustments to cope with their challenges, a normal life is only something they could dream of. One can be living a dependent life on their next paycheck, but they have the advantage to eternal happiness and a judge-free lifestyle with a vigorous body.

Self-Satisfaction In addition, “There are a lot of reasons someone might buy something, but if the reason is to maximize happiness, the best thing for that person to do is purchase a life experience that is in line with their personality”. Being satisfied with yourself means one is content with where they stand. If a person is pleased with their social status then they contain jubilation because they no longer yearn for more in themselves. Often times individuals spend excessive amounts of cash for luxurious things to fill emptiness inside them. People buy these costly items to put on a persona in attempt to impress others and to make it appear like they’re happy. In Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby the main character, Gatsby, believes that buying luxurious things for Daisy, his dream girl, will make her happy, therefore fulfilling his happiness. Gatsby's lavishly large and flamboyant parties are thrown in attempt to receive attention from Daisy despite the fact that he's always the only one not seeming to enjoy the raves. All the music, the people, the fancy cars, the decorations, the waterfall, the silks, the swimming pool, it’s all for her. They were never for him. They were just elaborate and extravagant things to please Daisy. Gatsby’s desire for Daisy’s satisfaction and not his own holds him back from his true being. All this money Gatsby flaunts at Daisy will never buy him his bliss, it only persuades Daisy enough to be around him, but in reality she has other priorities such as her husband, Tom Buchanan, and young daughter. Complacency provides an exhuberating and incomparable feeling of joy in your generation of living than any amount of wealth could possibly have to offer.

Living Freely Furthhttps://www.google.com/ermore, happier countries tend to be richer countries. But more important for happiness than income are social factors like the strength of social support, the absence of corruption and the degree of personal freedom. Containing a mass amount of wealth and riches isn’t horrible but there are other elements that are more essential to one's happiness. Paraphrasing from the novella "Of Mice of Men", written by John Steinbeck, one of the characters wistfully states(I believe Crooks), "All we ever wanted was a little piece of land, something to call our own." This little piece of land that the characters in the book all desperately wanted to call their own gives them a sense of independence, prosperity, and freedom. Freedom is one of the foundations of happiness, while money is just a factor.

Achieving Happiness Overall, though money seems as if it’s a key component to achieving true happiness and success in life, there are other aspects that are more essential in reaching these goals. Fundamentals such as having rights, good health conditions, and complacency are the determining factors of whether pure prosperity has been reached. Money is only a temporary amenity and if one relies on their riches for emotional stability and contentment, then one’s happiness is only temporary as well. Money can meet basic needs but it can’t fill a person’s holes inside created by personal obstacles or health disabilities .Wealth can imply prosperity, but only one can can achieve true happiness through substantial elements, providing them with the opportunity to thrive.