Happiness, Needs, Wants and Income

Happiness is not a function of what you own, but it is related. Here is my formula and theory on happiness.

If your NEEDS exceed your income, you are in POVERTY. Remember needs are food, clothing, shelter… not a 52 inch LCD TV. Poverty can buy you a load of misery. It is very hard (though not impossible) to be happy when you are starving, homeless or cannot provide for your family.

If your NEEDS are exceeded by your income, you have the potential to be happy. In fact, most of the people in the 2nd and 3rd worlds are happier than most 1st world people when their needs are exceeded. They may live in a shack, but they spend a lot of time with their family and friends and have a good life often very low in stress.

If WANTS exceed your income, you tend to be unhappy. IF ONLY I had one of those. IF ONLY I could drive one of those. IF ONLY… This is usually where unhappiness and misery come into the lives of those who have more than they need. The ‘If Only’ mentality takes over like a cancer. We compare ourselves to the rich, the famous, the TV and magazine advertisements and start to feel inadequate.

When INCOME exceeds WANTS, we have the potential for happiness and savings and security follow naturally.

HOW to get there? Either earn more (difficult). Or spend / want less (easy but for some, because of attitude and input, very difficult). Start learning to be happy with what you are earning. OR get busy and earn more by making you more valuable. Either you control your WANTS or you need to gain control over you INCOME.

SMILE MAKER: Things you don’t want to hear during surgery:

“Save that… we may need it for the autopsy.”

“Did anyone see where I left my scalpel?”

“Oh oh… I think I just removed the wrong organ.”

“I forgot… why did we open this guy up again?”