A quick question before you dive into this article; if you had enough money to upgrade to a 4K television for yourself, or to visit a small country for two days, which option will you pick? If you are excited about the first option, you need to keep scrolling down to know where you’re going wrong.
Most economists believe that happiness is the best indicator of the health of a society. Money can make you happier, but only until it’s spent. However, Science explains that investing in experience is the best way to stay happy and content in your life. Though your basic needs can be met only with money, but it’s experiences which makes your life a memorable one.
The reason why people often chose the former option mentioned in the very beginning of this story, is that physical substances stay for longer, whereas vacations and holidays are spent in days. But think about it, would you rather sit on your couch and watch beautiful destinations displaying in 4k clarity on your TV, or go and visit those places and see it yourself?
A recent study supports those who chose experience over materialistic pleasure. Dr. Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University, has been studying the question of money and happiness for over two decades now. He believes that one of the enemies of happiness is adaption. We buy things which can make us happy at the moment. New things are always exciting for human mind, and we learn to adapt to them with time. He believes that going for a play, or an adventurous trip would give us more happiness than buying an expensive phone or a car.
This view was supported by many other scientists later, who agreed that money can make you happy only for a certain amount of time. Over time, people develop a deep likening toward experiences and draw satisfaction out of it. The money spent on expensive commodities went down, and money spent on experiences went up.
It is easy to adapt to the material purchase, but with time it becomes normal. But experience becomes an integral part of our identity. Our experiences are bigger than the materialistic pleasures that we get from buying things; it’s a part of our identity. We all are sum total of our experiences.
The scary and thrilling experiences from your trips become a fun story to tell to your friends in a party. You look back at it as a memorable incident, and is important for character-building experience.
Another reason for travelling, or spending on experiences is that you make a special bond, or connection, with the person you go out to travel with, but you might not feel a thing when you’re watching a movie on your couch with another person.
So, next time when you’re frustrated with how monotonous is your life, and if you need a change, pack you bags and travel instead of investing in a new iPhone.
For references/details, please check out the original article here.
Source: curejoy.com