Is Happiness Defined by Money free essay sample

The question as to whether happiness is defined by money is often times brought up. Many people would argue that money does not create happiness, and rather make the argument that happiness is created through what you make out of your life. On the other hand, one could argue that happiness is related to monetary gains, and that the more money you have the happier you are. There are probably a hundred different thoughts on what happiness is, but happiness is truly defined as when someone acquires personal satisfaction in life, which can often times be achieved through monetary gains. Although there will always be those who say money cannot buy happiness, money can lead to personal satisfaction, which in the end leads to happiness. Happiness can be created through the things that one owns, also by what they have compared to others around them. As said in the article, â€Å"The Happiness of Pursuit,† one helps obtain happiness because â€Å"money can boost happiness if it allows people to obtain more of the things they need and desire† (qtd. We will write a custom essay sample on Is Happiness Defined by Money? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page in Kluger). This is proven through the fact that when people get what they want, or get more of the things they enjoy, then they become happy, and money can be used to get those things. It can also be argued that based on the amount of money one makes, their happiness can either be increased or decreased. In an article from the Time Magazine, according to Belinda Luscombe, â€Å"the more [people make], the more they felt their life was going well. † If it is true that the more money people make, and the better they feel pertaining to how their life is going, then they will definitely be happier depending on their monetary wealth. With the constant arguing back and forth of people as to whether money makes people happy, sad, or has no affect, it is apparent that money does affect people’s lives. Money can both help people get what they want, also help make their lives feel as if they are going well, which are both reasons as to how money makes people happier. Happiness is thought by some people to be the answer to all their problems, and believe that the more money they make the happier they are. Money does not always have to directly â€Å"buy† someone’s happiness. The more money one has, the happier they may be because they can spend more money on the things that bring them happiness. Therefore the article, â€Å"The Happiness of Pursuit,† supports the fact that happiness is created by what someone buys and how it specifically relates to them, because â€Å"rich isn’t just better, it’s much better† (Kluger). Comparing rich as being much better rather than just better, truly shows how much certain people care about the amount of money that they have, and that the amount of money they have greatly effects how satisfied they are with the way that their life is going. Happiness can also be affected based off of one’s salary. It is proven through a Time Magazine article that increases in salaries as low as 10% can create more happiness in a person, because â€Å"every 10% rise in annual income moves people up the satisfaction ladder [†¦] whether they’re making $25,000 or $100,000† (Luscombe). By showing that no matter how much money one is making at a time, and that a 10% increase in income helps people move up the satisfaction ladder, people are realizing that no matter what the increase in amount may be, the more money people make, the happier they are. If someone is supercilious enough to say that rich is much better, not just better, it is apparent that monetary amounts effect how much happiness someone has, and the more money they have the happier they are. This is also proven by the fact that slight income increases of 10% or more make people move up the satisfaction ladder and as stated above, personal satisfaction is one of the main keys to acquiring happiness. Happiness can also be acquired through satisfying and comfortable living standards, which require money to achieve. There is an apparent relationship between money and happiness in everyone, no matter what their circumstances are, and they are based on comfort. According to Dunn and Norton from the article, â€Å"Don’t Indulge. Be Happy. , â€Å"it turns out there is a measureable connection between income and happiness; not surprisingly, people with a comfortable living standard are happier than people living in poverty. † Obviously people who live in comfortable living standards are happier than those living in poverty, but the difference between those in poverty and those who have comfortable living standards is money. By having the money to live in comfortable living standards, people are happier. Another thing that money does is buying the things that are necessary to achieve happiness, no matter who or what you are. When someone argues that they do not need money to be happy, they need to look at the big picture like stated in the article, â€Å"Happiness, Beyond the Data,† because it may be â€Å"true that money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy many necessary conditions of happiness: food, shelter, medicine, security† (Gutting). People are often found arguing that money can’t buy happiness, but in reality, money is needed to acquire happiness, because everyone needs some money if any in order to stay alive. For example, it is widely known that in a town like Hinsdale, everyone has comfortable living standards, but not everyone is happy. Things such as comfortable living standards are the basic first steps of acquiring happiness, and having comfortable living standards requires money in the first place, which is why money is necessary in acquiring happiness. Some say that happiness does not require money to achieve, and that happiness can purely be made off of whether someone lives their life to the fullest or not. No matter how much money one makes, it is possible for them to still be happy, because â€Å"most Americans – 85% regardless of their annual income, felt happy each day† (Luscombe). By saying that 85% of Americans regardless of their income felt happy each day, it is proven that money is not required in order to achieve happiness. Although Luscombe proves that 85% of Americans felt happy each day regardless of their income, the real question is asked about how much money those Americans were making. If those Americans who claimed that they felt happy regardless of income were thrown into a lifestyle where they were making minimum wage struggling to feed their own families, they surely would no longer feel happy each day, which is why her argument is incomplete. By not knowing the circumstances of the Americans who believe that they would feel happy each day regardless of their income, it is not a valuable statistic. Yes, it may be possible that those people may be happy each day regardless whether they make millions of dollars or nothing, but it is very likely that the less money they make, the less satisfied they would be with their life, and in the end less happy. As the following states, it is apparent that happiness really is defined as when someone acquires personal satisfaction in life through their monetary gains; also that â€Å"we’ve learned that one balm can fix it all.