WANT TO BE HAPPY? INCREASE YOUR INCOME FIRST: In a previous post, - TopicsExpress

WANT TO BE HAPPY? INCREASE YOUR INCOME FIRST: In a previous post, nearly everyone said they wanted happiness more than wealth, but your brain uses wealth to create happiness!!!! This may come as a shock to most people, but for the past 30 years we have been led astray by placing our search for happiness above our desire to make money. It turns out that the newest socio-economic research shows that the greater your income, the happier you actually are. Most people, around the world, are actually very happy already: 76% of the poorest people are happy. But 88% of those who make over 50K are happier, and for those above 100k, 98% say they are very happy with their lives. INCOME PREDICTS HAPPINESS….that’s the fact. Why? The more money you have, the more power you wield to establish security, insure food, receive better health care, get a better education, etc. Historically, the definition of wealth was “health+wellbeing,” acquiring inner and outer wealth. But it’s the neuroscience that’s astonishing. The 3 most powerful images that will motivate your brain to take action are lusty pictures, your favorite comfort foods, and especially the picture of a single coin. Seeing it flashed for 1/20th of a second increases the activity of whatever you are doing! These are survival-oriented images, and the human brain has learned to equate money with pleasure, power, security, and happiness. On an instinctual level, anything you see that is new, different, and nonthreatening will stimulate the motivation center of your brain. Why? Because it may prove valuable to you in the future. Put a rat in a maze filled with unusual items and it will store it in a corner and protect it. Now you can understand hoarding behavior in a different light, but it also provides the first key to making money in a meaningful and ethical way. Acquiring more of anything of value (be it internal or external) stimulates the motivation/reward center in your lower brain, and the dopamine that is released increases consciousness in the decision-making areas of your frontal lobe. Focusing on more wealth motivates your brain, and your success brings personal happiness. Focusing on happiness (which is very difficult to visualize) actually turns off your desire to work. Studies show that the pursuit of happiness causes some people to get depressed. Try this thought experiment: Imagine being the happiest person in the world, and think of what you can “do” with it. Now imagine that you are the wealthiest person in the world, and think about all the things you could do the make the world a better place. Your wealth can bring happiness to millions, through health, education, better living standards, etc. When I asked 1500 people to reflect on this, 90% changed their mind and chose wealth over happiness. As one person said, I could hire the best coach (me, of course!) to make me happy. So what stops us from being greedy and selfish? The reaction that takes place in other people’s brains if we do not share our wealth in socially acceptable ways: it’s called altruistic punishment and we will cause others to suffer even if it costs us money! To summarize hundreds of scientific studies, this is the primary way your brain works: to acquire as much of everything that is pleasurable as possible, to avoid anything painful, and to punish anyone who is not fair and generous with their wealth. We are born with a greedy brain and we must honor it. But the research says that happiness is the result of how we spend our “wealth” (be it time, services, or philanthropy) on others that brings life-time satisfaction.