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Money and happiness
are complex

After thirty years of hard work, Jack McGuire looked back on his life. Now 55 years old, he could point to many accomplishments. He was president of a company that employed 300 people. His own income amounted to a quarter million dollars a year. He drove a nice car, lived in an upscale neighborhood, and was counted among the movers and shakers in his community.

But he felt no great sense of personal happiness. He said to himself, "I don't feel any happier than when I was working my way through college delivering pizzas in a rattletrap Ford."

Jack is facing a dilemma experienced by many successful people. He has money and status markers showing that he is highly successful, but he doesn't feel much happier than he did when he was scraping by in a low-paying job. The old cliché, "Money doesnt but happiness" should certainly come to mind. But the lack of a direct relationship between money and happiness is only part of a complex picture.

UP TO A POINT where money leads to the purchase of life's necessities, there is a direct relationship. That is, as people earn enough money to buy a house, pay their utility bills, purchase food, buy clothes for their children, and own a reliable car, they become happier.

The opposite is especially true: If people dont have enough money to provide food and shelter for themselves, or to buy clothes for their children, they experience stress and unhappiness. But once they are comfortable providing the basics for themselves and their families, money is no guarantee of increased happiness.

One reason for this lack of increased happiness is that people's comparison levels change. Jack, for instance, probably experienced pleasure when he was able to ditch his old Ford and buy a reliable Honda. But given his success in his mid 50s, a Honda may not seem like much. To keep up with his peers, he may have to purchase a Mercedes, a Porsche, or a BMW. But keeping up with his peers may not bring additional happiness since he is meeting the expectations set by others, not necessarily doing something meaningful and important to himself.

The experience is similar for housing. He may have been proud when he could purchase an apartment 25 miles from downtown Honolulu. But with success, he may feel pressured to purchase a home in Kahala. Dealing with such pressures may not be important for his feelings of happiness.

The pursuit of money and success, as in Jack's experience, can have additional downsides. He may have spent so much time and effort expanding his business that he neglected to nurture family and community social relationships. He may feel that his business success was accompanied by so much stress that his health has been threatened.

For many people, seeking and achieving balance in their passions and activities can contribute to increased happiness. Balance means that people are giving attention to their work as well as to their interpersonal relationships. Balanced people also find time for hobbies, physical activity, a good diet, medical attention when needed and volunteer work for charitable activities that they feel are important. Successful executives often tell colleagues that if their success allows them to "give back to their communities," then they feel that their hard work has been worthwhile.

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