Member-only story
Hitting the jackpot won’t make you happy
At least, not how you think it will.
Do you ever fantasize about winning the lottery?
What do you imagine doing with all that money? Do you quit your job? Do you buy your dream home? Do you travel the world on a private yacht? Do you hire a professional chef, a nanny, a house cleaner?
Getting excited, yet?
There’s no doubt about it, having money is useful. It can buy you a lot of things. It can make life exciting, interesting, joyful, comfortable, and easy.
So, why the adage, money can’t buy happiness?
Doesn’t it seem obvious that we would be happy-er if we had the money to do all these things?
Money is complicated… and so are we
Human life is complicated. I mean, I can’t say for sure it’s any more complicated than a dog’s or a cow’s, but judging from their generally satisfied dispositions, I get the sense they at least don’t struggle with life the way we do.
For instance, they can’t imagine what it would be like to win tons of cash and have the freedom to do amazing things with it. Instead, they’re probably enjoying the smell of other animals’ feces and the taste of their cud. Hey — to each their own!
