Julian DeJesus

10/29/18

Money Equals Happiness: To an Extent.

There are plenty of people in the world who are very happy with the little money they have. Even though they don’t have the money for the ‘basic needs’, they still manage to be happy; but I suspect that they’re the minority. Typically not having enough money for those same ‘basic needs’, which really has no definitive definition by the way, is stressful and challenging in many ways. Which is why having a steady income can help with providing those basic needs, in some cases. It completely depends on you and your psychology.

I also do stand behind the belief that children who grew up in more impoverished situations are more likely to grow up not needing money to find their individual happiness, which could be carried over into adulthood.

What I mean by extent, is that in most scenarios living without a steady income can be very challenging, if its not backed up by life experiences. Happy, freelike, strong emotional experiences help to oversee the fact that you might not have so much as others do, but the individual typically doesn’t mind.

The tricky thing about this debate is that there is no universal definition of happiness. Everyone creates their own versions of happiness, usually dependant on their childhood experiences. It’s individualized, unique, everlasting, euphoric, and it’s made just for you based off of your psychology. You could be materialistic, money oriented, and a very greedy person; and still not find any happiness in life. Or you could be someone who’s very spiritualistic, non material, cultural, and still live a content life.

Let’s take a look at celebrities for example, Robin Williams. Robin Williams killed himself at the age of who hung himself at age 63. Robin was worth over 100 million dollars. He also struggled with mental health and addiction issues. In his case money meant little for what he was going through and his life experiences had driven him to suicide.

There are also others that have faced similar situation and still continue to lead happy lives. Like Robert Downey Jr, he struggled with addiction and depression as well. And now he has two kids and very loving wife. Robert also has a net worth made of millions.

Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.” according to psychology. I believe that you have to create that ‘expectation’ yourself. You set the bar, based on nurture and whether or not you reach it is technically up to you even though it might not feel like it at first.

I mean, look at both spectrums there are ‘survival’ cases in both sides. Which means it will never be a definitive answer because it’s such a case to case basis at this point.

Moral of the story is that happiness is up to you. You can only do your best to reach it. But as long you are trying life is worth it, don’t lose it. This has been a PSA.