Will Buying This Make Me Happier?

No, probably not.

What is “this” you ask? It can be anything. A car, house, iPhone, a piece of clothing, furniture, random Instagram influencer endorsed product… you name it!

Generally speaking, there are very few things in life that we can buy that make us happier.

This concept, called Hedonic Adaptation, is incredibly well studied. The general idea is that we all have a set point of happiness in our life. When an event happens, like when we buy something, we have a temporary increase in happiness, followed by a return to normal.

Because of hedonic adaptation, there are very few things that we can buy in life that truly make us happier. Once the “buzz” of the purchase goes away, we naturally return back to our happiness set point.

All we really get from buying things is…. more things.

In fact, a lot of the time, trying to buy something in the hopes of making yourself happier actually has the opposite effect. When you add more clutter, debt, and purchase regret in your life, you decrease your overall happiness.

Simple Living and Your Happiness Set Point

If you truly want to improve your happiness in life, you are better off spending your effort on moving your set point. By doing so, your “normal” level of everyday happiness will be higher (with or without the need to buy things).

So how do you increase your happiness set point?

A simple and intentional life provides a strong foundation for overall life satisfaction. A few of the core principles of simple living are a great place to start:

• Develop Contenment – Learn to appreciate what you already have and be more content in your daily life. You’ll buy less as you realize you don’t need more to be happy.
• Understand Your Control – Your personal happiness and self-worth will increase as you better understand your control. You’ll progress more in life when you stop trying to change things out of your control, and more effectively focus on things that are.
• Meditate – A regular meditation practice has been shown to be an effective way to reduce stress and anxiety. With a clearer mind, you can more effectively handle what life throws at you.
• Find Your Purpose – It’s been well researched that overall life happiness can be linked to personal achievement. Set out to intentionally make a positive change in your life and others.
• Financial Security – Building financial security will allow you to reduce your overall stress in life, as well as give you more options. Saving money, instead of spending it, has a better chance of making you happier.