Everything You Want and It Won’t Make You Happy

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I wish everyone could get rich and famous and have everything they ever dreamed of so they would know that’s not the answer.
-Jim Carrey

Seems easy for someone who has achieved fame and fortune to say, but there’s a ton of truth packed in that statement. Through research, we’ve discovered the anticipation of something is more pleasurable than actually getting it.

This is why many people are addicted to the apps on their phones, gambling, online pornography, social media… and even the anticipation of going on vacation as being better than the vacation itself. Getting what we want seems anti-climactic.

We’ve hit a prime time in our history where everything we could want is within our reach. Even the poorest of our society have access to food better than monarchs and rulers from just 150 years ago. Poverty and violence on a global scale has gone down dramatically (don’t let media sensationalism fool you on this one) and the number one killer in the world today is heart disease.

According to the world health organization, the top ten causes of death on a global scale are all medical reasons (except road injuries), many of which are preventable.

Of course, it’s difficult for us to appreciate this shift as few (if any) of us have lived long enough to appreciate how far we’ve come.

In our personal lives, however, we can do this on a smaller scale. Consider the things you aspired for when you were younger and not just the big dreams, but the every day aspirations:

  • “I can’t wait to get older and stay up late.”
  • “I can’t wait to get my license, get a job and buy my own stuff.”
  • “I can’t wait to graduate school.”
  • “Have a place of my own.”

We’ve all achieved some level of success, even if it’s minor, and beyond a certain threshold of comfort, there are diminishing returns on money and happiness (Summary: happiness flat lines at 40K for an individual and 75K for a family). This is not to say you should be stupid with money as there’s enough of that going around, but don’t expect it to give you what it can’t.

Happiness is a moment that can’t be contained. Every day, you must watch for it, seek it, bask in it and let it go. Then, you will be getting what you really want.