Our modern society is very much consumer driven. Whether it’s a new car, clothes, electronics or anything else, we are very quick to empty our wallets whenever we have the urge (and the funds!) to treat ourselves.
There is no denying the thrill of the purchase, but at the end of the day a large amount of what we consume isn’t even necessary for a happy life – we are almost programmed into buying things we don’t need!
As it turns out, the happiness that people feel from buying material items is short-lived. Once we have purchased something that we desperately wanted, it becomes that little bit less exiting and original because we have finally got what we want.
After this, the satisfaction we feel from buying something we wanted quickly fades, and then it’s usually a case of moving on the next purchase. This happens over and over, with a large number of people following this pattern for most of their adult lives.
Interestingly enough, there is a way we can achieve satisfaction from spending our hard-earned cash without it disappearing shortly thereafter. Research at Cornell University found that humans achieve the same levels of happiness and satisfaction when we spend our money travelling instead of material items.
Better still, the feeling of satisfaction from a fun vacation will remain there long after you stop travelling.
It doesn’t even need to be a holiday to a sun-kissed foreign country. Travelling to local places and seeking out nearby events all offer the same positive effects on our minds. In fact, these positive memories will last a lifetime – the same cannot be said for all the objects we obsess about buying!
