These Are the Reasons Why Money Can’t Buy You Happiness

Perhaps there has always been and will always be a relentless pursuit of material possessions in humankind. However, you do not need to be a part of it! It has come to light through various studies that in fact, possessions do not fulfill any desire or happiness or make people feel a sense of completeness. The joy it brings to own a material possession is simply temporary, and it is only a matter of time before it causes more trouble than good.

Here are a bunch of reasons why engaging in what is termed as ‘retail therapy’ is not going to bring you any lasting happiness…

1. There’s Never Enough

If you are purchasing and purchasing, trying to meet a need you cannot quite place our finger on, know that no matter how much you do buy, you will never have enough to be content. Not if your mindset continues the way it is. Your closets may spill over and your shelves may sag, you may even run out of space in your garage – but there will just ever be enough and you will simply clutter up your life and your home.

2. Someone Else Will Always Have More

You cannot search for happiness in a store. A trolley full of goods each time you leave the house isn’t going to mean that there isn’t someone else with more. If you rate your happiness by how much you have in material possessions, you will always be chasing for more and more purchases but there will always be someone ‘happier’ because there will be people who have more. This is a vicious and unending cycle. You can’t win the game.

3. It’s Not As Impressive As You Think

While it may seem that increasing your reputation amidst your social circles could only happen by increasing your materialistic possessions you may be fooling yourself. The next person may certainly notice the new purchase you’ve made, whether it is a home, a car or something as small as a pair of pants. However, it might be likely that they may soon move on and focus on what they could buy to impress you.

Is this the vicious cycle you wish to be caught in? Believe us when we say that it is just not worth all the trouble you go through with spending money, making space for new goods and all the effort that goes into maintaining it just to impress someone for a few moments. And doing all this for someone who couldn’t care less and comes to you only to brag about their possessions or values you based on materialistic things? You’re better off without a company like that!

4. More Possessions Means More Maintenance

The more materialistic possessions you own, the more you spend on maintaining them.  Owning things requires a lot of time and energy investment to keep them looking good, because the moment you take whatever you’ve bought out of the packaging or begin using it, it begins to deteriorate. You are simply giving yourself more stuff to organize, clean, manage, and maintain. There is a whole lot more that you could be doing with your time than to be taking care of things you didn’t even need to buy in the first place!

5. One More Item To Worry About

For every single item you buy, it is one more thing in your home that you have to worry about being scratched, broken, or stolen. So, before you make a purchase, ask yourself if the item is worth losing sleep? If it is not, why are you wasting your money over it? What is the factor motivating you to buy it?  More often than not, you don’t need the item and you can leave it right there on the shelf for someone else to pick up and fill their homes with!

There is a theory put together by an American spiritual teacher named Adyashanti. According to him, the temporary feeling of ‘happiness’ after making a purchase is only the feeling of peace and contentment that you experience in the absence of a sense of want. So redirecting your desires can be a way to enjoy this peace and happiness for longer, while not spending as much money on material possessions. Live lean and good luck!