Can money buy happiness?

It's easy to get fixated on money, especially when it's in short supply. Yet is it really that important in the greater scheme of things?

- SYLVIA WALKER

I recall a time in my life when money was everything. Or rather, the lack thereof. I had a fairly good job but a husband who wasn’t working. Our first child was a few months old and the situation was dire. The relationship suffered and it took me years to recover from the financial knock.

It’s interesting to look back and reflect on this. We all need to feel financially secure. Money pays for our home, it buys groceries, it educates our kids and if we’re lucky, allows us to travel and have fun. It’s also our best friend in times of crises, allowing us to focus on getting through the drama. Money never lets us down if we look after it.

We’re taught to work hard, make money, and happiness will flow. But of course, that’s not true. Human beings are complex and our lives are a tangled interaction between various facets or pillars of life. These pillars provide stability just like the legs on a table, and money is just one of them.

Hunting for happiness

Emily Esfahani Smith is an author and journalist who focuses on how the pillars contribute to happiness. In her research she found that the more people tried to be happy, the less happy they actually were and that happiness is tied to having meaning or a sense of purpose in life.

It boils down to whether we consider our lives to be significant. And that depends on how we stack up in the various pillars of our lives. Having a lot of money isn’t enough.

The pillars of life

✣ A sense of belonging