So Money Can Indeed Buy (Limited) Happiness

So much have we heard what money can buy and can't buy and top the list of can'ts is happiness. 

Yesterday an article on USAToday, however, offered the opposite: Money can indeed buy happiness, though only to some limited extent. The conclusion (only one among many) is supported by findings from a research conducted by economist Andrew Oswald in England, who claimed that there's no doubt money makes people happier. The main debate is by how much.

If you are among people who still believe happiness has nothing to do with income or net worth, another article on AP Health has some simple actions you can take to make your life happier:

• Think of three good things that happened that day every night, and analyze why they occurred.
• Discover your personal strengths (through a specialized questionnaire [registration required]) and choose the five most prominent ones and apply one or more of your strengths in a new way every day.
• Write down what you want to be remembered for, to help you bring your daily activities in line with what's really important to you.
• Think about the happiest day in your life over and over again, without analyzing it, and write about how you'll be 10 years from now.

However, no matter which practice you want to choose, always keep in your mind that happiness is "about work and striving." As psychologist Ed Diener of the University of Illinois said:

Happiness is the process, not the place …… So many of us think that when we get everything just right, and obtain certain goals and circumstances, everything will be in place and we will be happy…. But once we get everything in place, we still need new goals and activities. The Princess could not just stop when she got the Prince.

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