1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, you're welcome to stuff to Blow 3 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: your mind. My name is Robert Lamb, and I'm Julie. 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: Live in the Dream, Douglas. You are You're You're living 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: the dream, the American Dream. Yeah. I have a roast 6 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: in the oven. I have my apron on right now, 7 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: I have my new Ford Etfel outside. And uh, you 8 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: know two and a half lovely children. And you you 9 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: probably arrived on a on a boat as an immigrant 10 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:42,200 Speaker 1: and just fell off the boat right into a pile 11 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: of money. Right well, I'm second generation, right yeah. And 12 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 1: and hard scrabble worked for it. Really wanted that hard 13 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: scrabble life, the professional scrabble circuit. That's an entirely different 14 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: podcast episode. It's hard to make a living on that, 15 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: but but it does exist, and it's fascinating. From what 16 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: I understand. It's about as lucrative as entering into like 17 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: the Toddler beauty pageant circuit. Yeah, I think it. It 18 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: may be as comfortable to that, but but but slightly 19 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: less crazy. Slightly. I refer to this idea of this 20 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 1: nineties like ideal of the American dream, where you know, 21 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 1: you had the perfect lawn, you had just bought a 22 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: house in a car, and everything was okay because you 23 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,919 Speaker 1: had those things right and and if you weren't happy, 24 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: it was achievable if you could only work hard enough 25 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 1: to buy these things. It was all about work hard 26 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: by the things that will give you the life that 27 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: is happiness. But does it really work like that? Does 28 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: money really buy happiness? Well, that's the big question, isn't it. 29 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: And it's certainly I threw this question out on Facebook yesterday. 30 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: I did a little blog post, and I found that 31 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: a lot of people just you know, instantly say no, 32 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: of course, that money didn't buy you happiness. Because that's 33 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: become an increasingly popular, uh, little bit of wisdom to 34 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,080 Speaker 1: keep around in your head, especially as we live in 35 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: a world that is so fascinated with the lives of 36 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: celebrities and the wealthy and so you know, ruled over 37 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,640 Speaker 1: by by that class of people. It's comforting to remind yourself, Oh, 38 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: they have all this money, they live this grand life, 39 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,959 Speaker 1: but they're not really happy, and therefore I can feel 40 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: a little better about not having what they have. Ironically, 41 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: I feel like Oprah actually brought this idea to the masses. Yeah, right, 42 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: because she does a lot of self you know, introstruction 43 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: and work with her audience on what is happiness and 44 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: so on and so forth. So I feel like she 45 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: seeded this for a lot of people. Yeah, I think so. 46 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: And but it is such a tricky issue because if 47 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: you hear, because because we respond both ways to it, right, 48 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: even some level, you hear a rich person or a 49 00:02:56,360 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: celebrity complain about their life. On one level, you have 50 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: that voice that says, oh, well, money doesn't buy happiness. 51 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,079 Speaker 1: There you go. But on the other side, there's a 52 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: voice that you want to say, oh, shut up, you 53 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: own an airplane. If you own an airplane, you don't 54 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: have the right to complain about your life. Like we 55 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: we kind of we kind of feel it both ways. 56 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: But found up in the is a little bit of 57 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: envy and this idea again that if if you just 58 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,799 Speaker 1: had access to their money, you would spend it right 59 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:24,639 Speaker 1: and you would do it in ways in which you 60 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: would be happy exactly. I mean, we think that even 61 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: as we we stare right in the face of studies 62 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 1: that say, of you know, the people that that win 63 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: the lottery um are either either it doesn't improve their 64 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: lives or makes them less happy. We we always think, 65 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: but if I want they won the lottery, I'd know 66 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: how to spend it. I would use it appropriately and 67 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: actually improve my life. I would be the exception of 68 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: the rule. So those are the types of things we're 69 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 1: going to explore today. But before we do that, we 70 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: should probably say that when it comes to happiness and wealth, 71 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: there is a major impact made when you are below 72 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: with the poverty line. That's right. The World Health Organization 73 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: is called poverty quote the world's biggest killer and the 74 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: greatest cause of ill health and suffering because when you 75 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: look at poverty, living below the poverty line in this 76 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:17,359 Speaker 1: world brings increase risks of violence, infectious disease, chronic disease, 77 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: mental health problems, sleep disorders, and chronic stress. And in 78 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: many cases we're talking about an individual's financial inability to 79 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: meet their own basic needs or the basic needs of 80 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,839 Speaker 1: their dependence. Yeah, and we were starting about basic needs. 81 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: We're talking about biological needs eating, right, Um, these are 82 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:38,480 Speaker 1: things that we have to use to survive. So if 83 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:40,839 Speaker 1: you can't meet that need, it's terrible, right, of course, 84 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:44,719 Speaker 1: you would be very unhappy. The thing, though, is that 85 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 1: once you can meet those basic needs, and once you 86 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: can rise above that poverty level, it may not be like, 87 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:53,599 Speaker 1: oh hey, it's it's smooth sailing from here on out. 88 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,840 Speaker 1: But the effects of money begin to taper off. And 89 00:04:57,279 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: this is actually from a House to Works article that 90 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,520 Speaker 1: we of on happiness and money, and it says that 91 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 1: homeless people in Calcutta, for instance, score a mere two 92 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: point nine on a seven point scale of happiness, while 93 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: multimillionaires in the United States rank around five point eight. However, 94 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: if you look at the Inuits in Greenland and Masai 95 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: ranchers in Kenya, they are just as happy as those 96 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: high society Americans, scoring around a five. So again, here's 97 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: that those effects of money tapering off. Yeah, it seems 98 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 1: to be diminishing returns. It's kind of like, uh, like 99 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: when you're when you're really hungry and you you dig 100 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,920 Speaker 1: into that delicious meal. You know, that first bite is amazing, 101 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: and then as you begin to fill up, it becomes lesser. 102 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,719 Speaker 1: I think I've seen sea studies that say that like 103 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:48,800 Speaker 1: the seventh bite, after you take the seventh bite of 104 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,480 Speaker 1: something and then you're just you're just eating. You're not 105 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:54,920 Speaker 1: enjoying the food at all. In your you're in you're 106 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: beginning to get even, you know, even closer to that 107 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: level where you're not even hungry anymore. It's just pure 108 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: recreational eating without any actual value to you as an organism. 109 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: And if you think about it, to your your brain 110 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: really can sustain that anyway, because that first bite is 111 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: really um sort of the bells and whistles of the 112 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: dopamine in your system saying, oh, a reward. But if 113 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:16,479 Speaker 1: every single bite was like that, you would never put 114 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: your fork down. Yeah. And in this we're getting into, 115 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: you know, kind of the complex notion of happiness that 116 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,719 Speaker 1: we've touched on before. What what is happiness? We're talking 117 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: in this podcast about about potentially buying happiness, but that 118 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: in itself is elusive. Is a happiness? That moment that 119 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:36,280 Speaker 1: you bite into that meal is happiness? The knowledge that 120 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: you created a recipe for that meal? Is it? Is happiness? 121 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: A moment in time? Is it an overarching theme that 122 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 1: covers a grand uh length of time? Well? And is 123 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:53,599 Speaker 1: happiness forkful after forkful really sustainable even if it's been 124 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,280 Speaker 1: bought on a silver spoon? Right? And So in order 125 00:06:57,320 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: to really get to this answer, we have to start 126 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: looking at meaning versus happiness because they're bound up in 127 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,040 Speaker 1: each other. There's no way to to to talk about 128 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: one without the other, really right, So happiness we can 129 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: you know, as elucid as the term is, we can 130 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: say you can still say things like, ah, well this 131 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: neal makes me happy. Uh, this gadget makes me happy. 132 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: My family makes me happy. Uh, this trip makes me happy. Uh, 133 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: this pill makes me happy. But can you can you 134 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: plug in the word meaning in all those cases, this 135 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 1: gadget gives my life meaning, this pill gives my life meaning. 136 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: This uh, my family gives my life meaning. To to 137 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 1: what degree to these statements match up with each term? Yeah, 138 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: And so you have to start looking at this idea 139 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: of happiness or well being. And for some economists, well 140 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: being is seen as a rising when benefits outweigh cost. 141 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 1: For the centers for disease control and prevention, they've just 142 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: find it as requiring good living conditions and positive relationship. 143 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,640 Speaker 1: For spiritualists, you see that it's a pleasurable state that 144 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: is the sum of the positive and negative thoughts and 145 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: feelings that arise when we reflect on our lives. When 146 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 1: we reflect on our lives, because that's when the meaning 147 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: part comes in. Yeah, and I think that goes beyond 148 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 1: spiritualists too and gets into areas of philosophy and even 149 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: psychology as well. But uh, but yeah, you start thinking 150 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: it's it's more about those moments in life when you 151 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: really reflect and ask yourself, what's the point of all 152 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: of this, what's what's what's the meaning? Why am I here? 153 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: What am I doing? And and that's where the meaning, 154 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: that's where the meaning comes into play as opposed to 155 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: the happiness, unless you're adhering to kind of a hedonistic philosophy, 156 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,959 Speaker 1: in which case the worm kind of uh turns back 157 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: on itself. But if you think about it this way, happiness, 158 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: as we have discussed before, is ephemeral, it's leading at 159 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,719 Speaker 1: the moment to moment thing. But meaning gives you context, 160 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 1: It gives you a sort of richness of that bite 161 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:02,240 Speaker 1: of happiness. I think most people would think that meaning 162 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:06,720 Speaker 1: is just nested within happiness, when in fact, it is 163 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: happiness that is nested within meaning. It's really sort of 164 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,720 Speaker 1: a byproduct of it. Right, Like for instance, when I 165 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: when I say name somebody who has led who has 166 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,679 Speaker 1: led a meaningful life? Like what are some of the 167 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: iconic examples exactly Gandhi or you know, or or a 168 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: mother Teresa type figure. These are the the individuals that 169 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: come to mind. But you don't necessarily think, oh, Gandhi 170 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: he was he was a happy guy. I mean, and 171 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: I don't think of Gandhi is an unhappy guy. But 172 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 1: you don't necessarily attach the happiness onto his meaningfulness. You 173 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:40,439 Speaker 1: think more, uh, more about struggle. You think more about 174 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: about putting yourself second and putting happiness second to a 175 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 1: cause and to the you know, the betterment of the 176 00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: world itself. Although you look at someone like the Dalai 177 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: Lama and you see perhaps he has both. Yes, indeed, 178 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 1: here's a man who is a meaningful life uh and 179 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 1: does seem to be rather jolly. Yeah, So keep that 180 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: example in your mind. Us as we go through these 181 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 1: sort of scales of wealth to happiness and scales of 182 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: wealth to meaningness. And we're gonna do this by taking 183 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:12,679 Speaker 1: an example of a study by Shigihiro Oishi, who is 184 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: from the University of Virginia psychologists and Ed Deaner a 185 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 1: University of Illinois psychologists. They conducted a study to better 186 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 1: understand how wealth would influence both happiness and meaningfulness. And 187 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: they examine the reli relationship between a country's wealth and 188 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: the well being of its citizens. That we're talking about 189 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 1: thousands of people, um and these people completing an annual 190 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: Gallop survey in one hundred and thirty two countries, And 191 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 1: so they would report how happy they were and whether 192 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:46,440 Speaker 1: or not that their life had some sort of purpose 193 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:50,319 Speaker 1: or meaning. And then they would look at a scale 194 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 1: from zero, which would be the worst possible life, to ten, 195 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 1: which is the best possible life. And that's where they 196 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: got masses of data and takes eased out this idea 197 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: of happiness and wealth, and so in the scale, we 198 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 1: would easily imagine that a ten would be an almost 199 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: unattainable level of happiness, like no mortal human could contain. 200 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 1: That if you reached a ten, you would sprout golden 201 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 1: wings and ascend into the cosmos right whereas a zero 202 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,960 Speaker 1: you your life would be so miserable that how could 203 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,000 Speaker 1: you You You would just pop into non existence. There'd be 204 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: no way you could continue because your life would be 205 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:31,680 Speaker 1: such um, such such a pool of suffering. So what 206 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:35,560 Speaker 1: did they find? Overall, people from wealthier countries were generally 207 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:39,240 Speaker 1: happier than those from poorer countries. Now again, think about 208 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: the ephemeral effects of happiness moment to moment, and so 209 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:44,040 Speaker 1: I want and so forth. And to reach an average 210 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: life satisfaction score of four out of ten, people needed 211 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 1: to earn about seven hundred dollars a year. For a 212 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: score of five, they needed to earn three thousand dollars 213 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,000 Speaker 1: a year, and for a score of six, they needed 214 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: to earn an average of sixteen thousand dollars per year. 215 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: For a seven, it's pretty good on the scale, right, 216 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 1: they needed to earn an average of sixty four dollars 217 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: a year. So all right, yes, we see that there's 218 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: an idea of more happiness in wealthier countries here, but 219 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: what about meaningfulness? Well, and not only let you say, 220 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 1: not only this the wealthy country, but here we see 221 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: the actual income level influencing happiness. Because it's easy to say, like, okay, 222 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: a rich country, obviously they're gonna arguably have have a 223 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: better support system in place, They're going to have better 224 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 1: resources for for everyone. Um, it's going to be safer. 225 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 1: You know, you can go down the list of all 226 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 1: the positive benefits there. But but what I like about 227 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,080 Speaker 1: the cities that also and what is more problematic about 228 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 1: the study, especially to the whole money camp by the 229 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:50,680 Speaker 1: happiness thing, is that it says that you actually see 230 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: the lineup of the money that's coming into the life 231 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: and the happiness enjoyed in that life. Indeed, right, but 232 00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 1: it tells a good story of that. So the other 233 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 1: story is that they found is that between nine five 234 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:10,319 Speaker 1: and of respondents from poverty stricken Sierra Leone, Togo, Kyrgyzstan, 235 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 1: Chad and Ethiopia reported leading meaningful lives on that scale. 236 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,960 Speaker 1: Now only two thirds of the respondents and wealthy countries 237 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 1: like Japan, France and Spain believe that their lives had meaning. 238 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:26,959 Speaker 1: So what is happiness without meaning? Here? Well, I think 239 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,320 Speaker 1: we can we can probably all point to moments in 240 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: our own life where we can say, well, that was 241 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:35,040 Speaker 1: a moment that was happy, but was it meaningful? You know? Um? 242 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: And maybe more than moments, maybe whole decades of our lives, 243 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 1: we can look back and say, well I had a 244 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:44,640 Speaker 1: lot of fun, but did it mean anything? Um and uh. 245 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: And not to say that that meaning and and fun, 246 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 1: not to say that meaning and happiness can't line up, 247 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,840 Speaker 1: but or that they're mutually exclusive, but but you can 248 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: well imagine someone setting in a you know, say a 249 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 1: fancy penthouse, Uh, you know, kick back, enjoying, say some 250 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 1: sort of video game on the latest system, the largest screen, 251 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 1: the coolest sound system, and uh, is it a meaningful experience? Though? 252 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:11,440 Speaker 1: Is it something that they can look back, that they 253 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:13,920 Speaker 1: can have that that moment of reflection and say, what 254 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: is my life about? Why? Why do I exist? What's 255 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 1: the purpose of everything? And I would argue that it's 256 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 1: it's hard to say that enjoying an awesome video game 257 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 1: on an awesome couch in front of an awesome television 258 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 1: set lines up with that that sort of existential reason 259 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 1: to be right. And we've talked about this, that's the 260 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 1: problem of consciousness. Why are we here? What are we doing? 261 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:40,120 Speaker 1: So the question then becomes why would people in poverty 262 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 1: stricken countries have more meaning or feel that their lives 263 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,640 Speaker 1: had more meaning? And Adam Altar, who wrote a New 264 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 1: Yorker piece on this, says, perhaps because poverty strips people 265 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 1: of happiness and the short term when those terms ding 266 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 1: ning ning that we've been talking so much about, Perhaps 267 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: because of that, it forces them to take the long 268 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 1: you to focus on the relationships they have with their children, 269 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: their gods, and their friends, which become more meaningful over time. 270 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 1: And indeed, you could you could probably argue that they're 271 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: they're they're forced to depend upon those social structures more. 272 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 1: You know, they're they're less financially self reliant, and therefore 273 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 1: it's more of a community situation as opposed to the 274 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,720 Speaker 1: you know, the lone individual standing in line to get 275 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: the latest gadget and then taking it home to enjoy 276 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,840 Speaker 1: in their in their cavernous den, which we'll talk about 277 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 1: in a moment, but just in case you're wondering if 278 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: there are any other studies that maybe are more Western 279 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 1: centric will Indeed there are. There's one by psychologist Roy Baumeister, 280 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,400 Speaker 1: who we've talked about before in the context of willpower. Yes, 281 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 1: all those chocolate cake experiments where you would attempt somebody 282 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: with a chocolate retreat and see what could effect it 283 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: would have on your your willpower. Yes, all those interesting 284 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: experiments where you would you would see to what extent 285 00:15:56,680 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: various stimuli would have on your ability to exist the 286 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: temptation of delicious chocolate cake. Yeah, as you said before, 287 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: he's that guy in the street corner with a lab 288 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: coat and a chocolate cake, Beware Beware of Roy biomaster Um. 289 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 1: But he and a team of researchers asked four Americans 290 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 1: between the ages of eighteen and seventy eight about whether 291 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 1: they felt happy and or meaningful when it comes to 292 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 1: their life. Did they have meaning in their life? And 293 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: he found that people were happy when their needs and 294 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:28,400 Speaker 1: desires were met in the present, but that this immediate 295 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: fulfillment was largely the relevant to meaningfulness, and that the 296 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 1: respondents derived meaning from considering the whole of their lives, 297 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: including the past, in the future, and happiness was generally 298 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: a reflection of how they felt in the present alone. 299 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 1: So Yes, the happier people, they were more likely to 300 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,840 Speaker 1: report that they lead easy lives, that they were in 301 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:51,800 Speaker 1: good health, and to feel good much of the time. 302 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: They could buy whatever they wanted without any financial stream um. 303 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 1: But people who felt that their lives were more meaningful, 304 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 1: on the other hand, were likelier to have experience fulfilling 305 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: social relationships, engaged in acts of charity, taking care of 306 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:09,399 Speaker 1: the children, thought about struggles and challenges, challenges including you know, 307 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: the act of prayer in this as well as other 308 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: more community centered activities. So yes, you have this big 309 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:23,639 Speaker 1: study from Shikhiro Oishi and at dinner, but you also 310 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:28,159 Speaker 1: have Balmeister's smaller, us centric one, which is mirroring the 311 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: same effects of meaningfulness versus happiness. I like that you 312 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: mentioned struggle earlier, and it brings us back to this 313 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: idea of a meaningfulness being tied up with the story 314 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,000 Speaker 1: of our lives and sort of the story shaped nature 315 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:44,639 Speaker 1: of our own self awareness. Uh So at the end 316 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 1: of the day, you have to you have to place 317 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:51,320 Speaker 1: yourself within a story and think also about the kind 318 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:54,040 Speaker 1: of stories we actually engage with. The kind of stories 319 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:55,920 Speaker 1: you would pay to see the movie theater or reading 320 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,440 Speaker 1: a book. They're generally the stories of struggle. I mean, 321 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,120 Speaker 1: it's the base of the basic plot line, the rise 322 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: and fall the Uh you don't want to see a 323 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 1: movie about about a man or a woman who had 324 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: everything uh they ever wanted, right, Um, you want to 325 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:15,160 Speaker 1: see the movie about someone who lost everything and then 326 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 1: figured out what was important in their life, or someone 327 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 1: who rose from nothing to to achieve something. So these 328 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,400 Speaker 1: are the archetypes that we have to fit our our 329 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 1: own lives in in order to find me At least, 330 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: I agree, because I think we are so much the 331 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:35,040 Speaker 1: storytelling brain. That's how that's how we operate. We have 332 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:37,399 Speaker 1: to have that story in order to make sense of 333 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 1: our lives and move forward. And I even think about 334 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:44,480 Speaker 1: the fictional movie The Matrix, in which the storyline there 335 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:49,480 Speaker 1: was that the alien overlords at some point had tinkered 336 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: around and made the human lives very easy. They had 337 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,760 Speaker 1: no challenges and in essence, they had no meaning. So 338 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: what happened is that all the humans died off because 339 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 1: of course they were harnessing their their bodies energy right 340 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,840 Speaker 1: um in those little pods, and so they had to 341 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:10,520 Speaker 1: put into the stories of the humans lives some sort 342 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 1: of challenge obstacle in order to get to that idea 343 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:17,200 Speaker 1: of why am I here? What? What is the point 344 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: of being alive? Indeed, yes, I think that's that's an 345 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:22,920 Speaker 1: excellent example of it, just the idea that a life 346 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,159 Speaker 1: without struggle is not really a life. Struggles are the 347 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 1: things that define our existence. To give us that story 348 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:31,200 Speaker 1: and ultimly give us meaning. Alright, Uh, on that note, 349 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: we should probably take a break, and when we get back, 350 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about like you've got some change, 351 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:38,920 Speaker 1: you burning a hole in your pocket, and you want 352 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 1: to spend it and to try to be happier. Let 353 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: me talk about the ways in which you might be 354 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:50,119 Speaker 1: able to do that. All right, we're back putting a 355 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 1: price tag on happiness, all right. So of course Forbes 356 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 1: has some some articles on this, right because Forbes is 357 00:19:56,480 --> 00:20:00,680 Speaker 1: very interested in in economics and um how to pursue 358 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:03,679 Speaker 1: that in in the best way that you can. And 359 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:06,440 Speaker 1: one of the articles talks with Elizabeth Dunn, who is 360 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:08,920 Speaker 1: a co author of the book Happy Money, The Science 361 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:13,439 Speaker 1: of Smarter Spending, and she talks about one of the 362 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: ways that has the most impact with money and happiness 363 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:22,679 Speaker 1: is to purchase experiences, not things. Yes, buying an experience 364 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:26,400 Speaker 1: as opposed to a material instead of simply going and 365 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:28,959 Speaker 1: even waiting in line to buy that new gadget at 366 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 1: the store. It's about taking a trip to an exciting location, 367 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:36,040 Speaker 1: or even even not that exciting a location, but but 368 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:40,080 Speaker 1: taking a little adventure, right Or going to a concert, 369 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,880 Speaker 1: checking out a new musical actor, an old favorite, going 370 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,600 Speaker 1: to a play, that sort of thing. And she cites 371 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 1: in August two thousand and fourteen study called Waiting for 372 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:55,600 Speaker 1: More low anticipatory consumption of experiential and material purchases, which 373 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 1: tracked about a hundred college students in twenty two hundred 374 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: randomly selected adults to see how they felt about material 375 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 1: goods and experiences, and they found that participants were excited 376 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,399 Speaker 1: about both the thing and the experience, but they were 377 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: overall more positive about the experience. Moreover, material purchases were 378 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,800 Speaker 1: more likely to be tinged with feelings of impatience. So 379 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:20,239 Speaker 1: I think you had already mentioned before, like sitting in 380 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:23,879 Speaker 1: line for something. Here's a good example. You're in line 381 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:28,720 Speaker 1: for the newest gadget. Do you feel collaborative and easy 382 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: going with your fellow line waiters or do you feel 383 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 1: kind of like itchy and competitive? Yeah, I would I 384 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,840 Speaker 1: would imagine it tends more towards the competitive side. Now. Certainly, 385 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:44,480 Speaker 1: as we were discussing earlier, really savvy companies such as 386 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:49,400 Speaker 1: Apple has tried to make it more of a community, right, 387 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: more but more almost a religion where you're not in 388 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:57,440 Speaker 1: line with other consumers with whom you're competing, but rather 389 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,720 Speaker 1: you're you're gathered with like minded individual wolves who were 390 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:04,160 Speaker 1: there to to get another slice of the future, right, 391 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: Because then you can kind of look at it as 392 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,359 Speaker 1: that line for the experience, right, So your in line 393 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:12,240 Speaker 1: for for a you know, a theater ticket or a tour, 394 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:14,879 Speaker 1: and all of a sudden you're talking with your fellow 395 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,760 Speaker 1: line waiters about how cool it's going to be. You're right, 396 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:21,399 Speaker 1: Apple has completely hacked into that because now we have 397 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,360 Speaker 1: people in line for the experience of Apple. And did 398 00:22:24,359 --> 00:22:26,919 Speaker 1: you know that you can ask Serri her favorite color 399 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:29,200 Speaker 1: and she will tell you it's this blue green color 400 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,159 Speaker 1: that she can't quite articulate. So it's like waiting in 401 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:34,720 Speaker 1: line to get into a fish show talking went to 402 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:38,359 Speaker 1: your other your fellow fish fans and discussing, you know, 403 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,960 Speaker 1: the set list at this show that came through last year, 404 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,439 Speaker 1: that kind of thing. Yeah, I mean, at its essence, 405 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: it's about community and and and it's a highly social 406 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:53,640 Speaker 1: bonding sort of experience. Yeah. And then I think the 407 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,160 Speaker 1: the imaginative state going into it is key too, because 408 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:58,800 Speaker 1: you think about you know, when you're looking forward to 409 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 1: a new video game coming out or a new gadget. 410 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:04,360 Speaker 1: You know, you're you're reading these articles about it, you're 411 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 1: looking at screenshots, you're looking at some footage, but ultimately, 412 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,119 Speaker 1: you to your point, you just impatiently wanted You're like, 413 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 1: I want that thing in my hand. I want to 414 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,399 Speaker 1: I want it in my video game machine so I 415 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,240 Speaker 1: can be playing it. Why am I not playing it already? 416 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,120 Speaker 1: Why do I have to wait a year? Whereas when 417 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:22,800 Speaker 1: you're getting excited about a trip, there may be a 418 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,320 Speaker 1: little in patience. You might be thinking which might work 419 00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:27,200 Speaker 1: week or over? So I could, you know, actually let 420 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: the fun times begin. But you get to, uh, to 421 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 1: involve yourself in the planning of that trip, right and 422 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,040 Speaker 1: picking out what you're gonna do and daydreaming about the 423 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,120 Speaker 1: thing you're gonna do, kind of like daydreaming about how 424 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:41,360 Speaker 1: you're going to spend that lottery money, except it's actually 425 00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:45,080 Speaker 1: going to happen. Yeah, And you can involve others in 426 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 1: that planning to exactly and their experiences. Oh I went 427 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: to you know, this beach or that beach, or you know, 428 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:55,879 Speaker 1: to get excited themselves about your upcoming experience. Right, I mean, 429 00:23:56,160 --> 00:24:00,720 Speaker 1: you're it's you're you're engaging yourself with society on some level, 430 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,560 Speaker 1: even if you're only traveling with one person and just encountering, 431 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:06,680 Speaker 1: you know, people on the way. Uh. A trip is 432 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:09,800 Speaker 1: an adventure that's going to forge a new story for you, 433 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:14,320 Speaker 1: Whereas you know, a gadget, a video game, Uh, some 434 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:17,480 Speaker 1: sort of material possession and new code. Those things are 435 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,040 Speaker 1: gonna They may carve a story, but it's a much 436 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 1: smaller story. Indeed, and Done also says that a second 437 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: category isn't this this spending on other people is another 438 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:34,200 Speaker 1: way to achieve happiness with money. And when I think 439 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 1: about this, I just think about this as being a 440 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: different version of the experience. Really, but you're you're buying 441 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 1: an experience for someone else, or you're creating an experience 442 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,720 Speaker 1: for someone else, And that's the altruistic act again, a 443 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:52,080 Speaker 1: community social based act here. Yeah, if nothing else, like 444 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:56,040 Speaker 1: bare minimum, you're buying yourself that that that moment where 445 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 1: you give something to somebody else and you get to 446 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 1: see the look their face hopefully and you you'll get 447 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,160 Speaker 1: to feel good about yourself. And uh and if nothing 448 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: else to you're you're taking your mind off of yourself 449 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:09,800 Speaker 1: and putting it onto someone else. You know, you're you're 450 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 1: sort of breaking free of the default mode network for 451 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:16,160 Speaker 1: just a moment and and putting the taking the spotlight 452 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,240 Speaker 1: off of your own story and putting it on another's, 453 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:20,720 Speaker 1: or at least having your story meet there's yeah, and 454 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,200 Speaker 1: there are scouts of studies that support this this idea 455 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,320 Speaker 1: that there's a link between happiness and um, your own 456 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 1: ability to provide that gift of happiness to someone. In fact, 457 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 1: done in one of her studies, It was a two 458 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: thousand and eight study gave college students either five dollars 459 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:38,680 Speaker 1: or twenty dollars to them by the end of the day. 460 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,600 Speaker 1: Now half were instructed to buy something for themselves and 461 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:44,479 Speaker 1: then the other half were instructed to buy something for 462 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: someone else. And what do you think, you know, how 463 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: did they rate their levels of happiness for that day. Well, 464 00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 1: it turns out that the altruistic endeavor was the one 465 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,040 Speaker 1: that generated the most happiness. Yes, And they say that 466 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 1: that may be boil down to something called self determination theory, 467 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:06,440 Speaker 1: which states that human well being depends upon satisfaction of 468 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 1: three basic needs relatedness, competence, and autonomy. So in this 469 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: circumstance where they were giving away that money or buying 470 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,000 Speaker 1: something for someone else, it meant those three conditions. So 471 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: we're talking about bonding um, free choice, and just having 472 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:27,199 Speaker 1: the ability to do it in the first place. And 473 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,719 Speaker 1: this brings to mind an important point that's brought up 474 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,600 Speaker 1: in the house Stuff Works article. Can money by happiness 475 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:36,080 Speaker 1: by Jennifer Horton, which is a nice examination of some 476 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 1: of these same issues. UH. And this article points out 477 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:44,720 Speaker 1: that you do see highly successful UH wealthy individuals who 478 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,159 Speaker 1: are scoring highly on the on the the Happiness contentment 479 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:53,439 Speaker 1: Um meter, but a lot of this generally stems from 480 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: from the success and enjoyment of one's job rather necessarily 481 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:00,760 Speaker 1: than the size of the paycheck. So again it comes 482 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:04,560 Speaker 1: more down to UH, to the the experience, and to 483 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:09,280 Speaker 1: the into determinalism as opposed to just a fat check 484 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: at the end of the week. Indeed, now um in 485 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:18,600 Speaker 1: terms of giving away money or buying experiences or even 486 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:21,720 Speaker 1: getting a big fat page, one of the things that 487 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,560 Speaker 1: Done says is that you have to restrict access or 488 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,679 Speaker 1: make something special. In other words, buying something for someone 489 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:33,400 Speaker 1: every single day could diminish your feelings of happiness. Right. 490 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:38,480 Speaker 1: It's just sort of again that analogy of forkful of cheesecake. 491 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,080 Speaker 1: You know, first it's going to be the best. Yeah, 492 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 1: you know, no matter what the fantasy is, no matter 493 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,120 Speaker 1: what the the dream is, if you have enough of it, 494 00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 1: it's gonna get old, it's gonna get sick. It's you're 495 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 1: going to adapt to that environment and you're going to 496 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:54,639 Speaker 1: want a different environment. You're gonna need something greater and 497 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 1: greater to to thrill you or at least satisfy you 498 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,720 Speaker 1: and give you that feeling that you're leaving leading this 499 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:04,480 Speaker 1: happy life, which taps into two things. Here will power 500 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:08,120 Speaker 1: and as you said already, fantasy. And if you think 501 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,160 Speaker 1: about those two terms side by side and you think 502 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:15,560 Speaker 1: about watery winners, wow, you have a really great discussion 503 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:20,040 Speaker 1: or even study about how happiness plays out. Right, Yeah, 504 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:23,720 Speaker 1: Because suddenly you go from zero to five, right, You're 505 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,280 Speaker 1: you're you suddenly have all of this money to buy 506 00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: the happiness that you've wanted, and you start spending on things, right. 507 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 1: You get that, you get that car that you think 508 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:35,240 Speaker 1: you need, You get that the house that you think 509 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 1: you need, um, and pretty soon you you just have 510 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,480 Speaker 1: to keep buying things to maintain that level of newness 511 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: and happiness. Right. Yeah. And there's this idea that you'll 512 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:48,000 Speaker 1: have more choices, Yes you will, but that doesn't necessarily 513 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:50,960 Speaker 1: make someone happier. In fact, we've talked about that before. 514 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: It's you go depletion, and which you have all of 515 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:55,600 Speaker 1: these things in front of you, and you spend so 516 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,760 Speaker 1: much mental energy on it that you are depleted for 517 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:01,920 Speaker 1: making good decision in the future. And again here comes 518 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,480 Speaker 1: the short term long term thing, because if you are 519 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 1: trying to fill that void by buying, buying, buying, your 520 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: serving constantly the short term. And that's where you see 521 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:17,200 Speaker 1: that lottery winners are something like twice as likely to 522 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:21,280 Speaker 1: declare bankruptcy than the general population. And it also just 523 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,360 Speaker 1: ties back into that old adage. You know, you know, 524 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,400 Speaker 1: at the end of the day, if you you're still 525 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:28,400 Speaker 1: going to be the same person, right, You're just gonna 526 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:30,840 Speaker 1: be surrounded by more stuff, or maybe you'll be in 527 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,280 Speaker 1: a fancy your house, but you still have to look 528 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:35,320 Speaker 1: at yourself in the mirror. You still have to ask 529 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:38,160 Speaker 1: those questions about meaning, why am I here? I have 530 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:41,280 Speaker 1: a really fancy car that I just bought, But how 531 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 1: does that change my story? Yeah? In fact, that gets 532 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: down to this idea of perhaps all of us are 533 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,400 Speaker 1: pre loaded with the set point of happiness that can 534 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: change over time. Right. I guess if you were to 535 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,320 Speaker 1: do that in a in a way that was really intentional, 536 00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,320 Speaker 1: but if you didn't, there there may be sort of 537 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:01,840 Speaker 1: a set point that we all gravitate to. And again, 538 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:04,760 Speaker 1: lottery winners were examined for this. It was in nineteen 539 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 1: eight study by a team of psychologists from from Northwestern 540 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: University in the University of Massachusetts, which was published in 541 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,080 Speaker 1: the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and they found 542 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: that lottery winners were not significantly happier than control group participants, 543 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:24,760 Speaker 1: and that patients with spinal cord injuries did not appear 544 00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:29,120 Speaker 1: nearly as as unhappy as might be expected. Yes, I 545 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:31,480 Speaker 1: mean the spinal injury thing comes into play because on 546 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: some of you could say, individuals are sustained as a 547 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:41,960 Speaker 1: sufficient injury have fewer choices, whereas money seemingly brings more choices. 548 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:45,760 Speaker 1: Money money's free speech, right, money is more freedom to 549 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:48,480 Speaker 1: do things in the world, And yet it doesn't really 550 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:51,560 Speaker 1: pan out that way when you look at these statistics. Yeah, 551 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:55,480 Speaker 1: And to further this idea of set point happiness, psychology, 552 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:59,320 Speaker 1: professor Gildrick Schmack found that once couples married, their life 553 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:03,560 Speaker 1: satisfaction measures generally changed in the same direction, suggesting that 554 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: environmental factors like child's birth or a job loss would 555 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: affect their well being. But with you again, if you 556 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:13,440 Speaker 1: take the long term view of them, he found that 557 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: their participants happiness level was relatively stable over a course 558 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:21,520 Speaker 1: of twenty two years, So again perhaps the influence of 559 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:23,720 Speaker 1: this set point. All right, but at this point you're 560 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:26,240 Speaker 1: probably wondering, well, what can I do if I have 561 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:30,720 Speaker 1: the money to spend and I want happiness, I want meaningfulness, 562 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:32,560 Speaker 1: I want all of these things, and I have a 563 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:35,360 Speaker 1: little money set aside, how do I spend it? You 564 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 1: would go big. You would look for three things. You 565 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:40,360 Speaker 1: would you would look for a time, You would look 566 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 1: for giving all truism, and you would look for experience, 567 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:46,920 Speaker 1: and you would try to wrap all three of those 568 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,200 Speaker 1: things up into one thing. Yeah, like an example that 569 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:51,600 Speaker 1: comes to mind, and this is not something big on 570 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:54,600 Speaker 1: a financial level. But so you're giving a gift to 571 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:58,000 Speaker 1: a child. You don't just give them a thing. As 572 00:31:58,080 --> 00:31:59,840 Speaker 1: much as they want that thing, would pray and would 573 00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:01,640 Speaker 1: prob be happy to run off in the next room 574 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:04,760 Speaker 1: with that thing, but you give them something that you 575 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:07,840 Speaker 1: do together. You give them the experience of building said 576 00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:11,000 Speaker 1: thing or playing said thing if it's a game, right 577 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,120 Speaker 1: and uh, and so you're getting there, getting that gift 578 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:17,680 Speaker 1: giving rush. You are getting the experience of doing something 579 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:22,000 Speaker 1: with the with the child. The socialization as well as 580 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:25,680 Speaker 1: the story of doing it. Um, all these things that 581 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:28,520 Speaker 1: wound up into one and you're giving of your own 582 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 1: time and so investment. Yeah, and so what this all 583 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:34,600 Speaker 1: underscores is that there is some sort of meaning achieved. 584 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:36,600 Speaker 1: As you said, there's a story to go along with this. 585 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 1: Perhaps it's this is my grandchild and I'm and I'm 586 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:43,320 Speaker 1: helping to add to you know, his or her life 587 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:46,280 Speaker 1: in this way. And maybe it's even a life lesson 588 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,240 Speaker 1: that they want to impart. So you know, that's this 589 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:52,560 Speaker 1: hopefully a good one, right. Yeah, there's the Fisher Price 590 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:55,880 Speaker 1: Life Lesson series you can get. It's some of them 591 00:32:55,880 --> 00:33:00,400 Speaker 1: are pretty rough, but but they're important. Well they're all plastic. Yeah, 592 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:03,320 Speaker 1: so that's good. Um. Yes, I think it just all 593 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,719 Speaker 1: boils down to the ability to take stock of your life, 594 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:11,320 Speaker 1: find meaning, and also be thankful for the things that 595 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:14,640 Speaker 1: you do have because, as we know, just you might 596 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:19,120 Speaker 1: get that quick dopamine surge from buying something, but again 597 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:22,080 Speaker 1: that that's ephemerals, that's not gonna last. Yeah. So, I 598 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 1: especially as we begin to sadly enter into another holiday season, 599 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:29,800 Speaker 1: I would advise everyone when you when you add something 600 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,760 Speaker 1: to that Animazon wish list, when you buy that gift 601 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:36,640 Speaker 1: for someone else, or you know, buy something for yourself. Think, 602 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:38,880 Speaker 1: think about it in terms of meaning and story, like 603 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,280 Speaker 1: what what is the what meaning am I adding to 604 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:44,560 Speaker 1: my life for someone else's with this purchase? All right, well, hey, 605 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:46,520 Speaker 1: let's we've got a little time here. Let's call over 606 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:51,640 Speaker 1: the robot and read through some listener mail. All right, 607 00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:53,920 Speaker 1: this one comes to us from I'm gonna say p 608 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:56,720 Speaker 1: s K for sure. I don't want to butcher your name, 609 00:33:56,800 --> 00:34:00,680 Speaker 1: so we'll just go with initials. Um PSK says. Hey, guys, 610 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:02,800 Speaker 1: I'm a longtime listener. I love the show. I'm writing 611 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:04,920 Speaker 1: to you because I just heard your podcast on the 612 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:08,319 Speaker 1: flow state. I'm a practic practitioner and performer of what 613 00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:12,319 Speaker 1: are called the flow arts. Basically, it's prop manipulation using poi, 614 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:14,840 Speaker 1: hula hoops, contact balls, and a lot of other objects 615 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:16,520 Speaker 1: too many of the name here. The reason we are 616 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:18,759 Speaker 1: called flow artists is because the main purpose of our 617 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:21,880 Speaker 1: art is less entertainment and more about achieving a flow state, 618 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:26,080 Speaker 1: a feeling of perfect synchronicity and awareness with our chosen prop, 619 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:28,840 Speaker 1: a way of losing ourselves in our flow. For years, 620 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:31,920 Speaker 1: I thought this was something new that people were latching onto. 621 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:34,800 Speaker 1: I had no idea there was legitimate research into flow states, 622 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:36,879 Speaker 1: or that a flow state could be achieved through other 623 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:40,000 Speaker 1: tasks besides prop manipulation. Now that I think of it, though, 624 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:42,080 Speaker 1: it makes perfect sense, and now I'll try to achieve 625 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:46,080 Speaker 1: flow more in my daily life. Anyways, thanks for the podcast. 626 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:48,920 Speaker 1: It was very informative, even for someone who considers himself 627 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,560 Speaker 1: well versed in flow. If you or your audience would 628 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:53,239 Speaker 1: like to see some of the things that people are 629 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:55,640 Speaker 1: doing through flow, I invite you all to search POI 630 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:59,160 Speaker 1: that's p o i uh in YouTube or even visit 631 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:01,960 Speaker 1: my own groups you tube channel the Way of the Circle. 632 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:06,240 Speaker 1: Thanks guys, take care by all right, So that was awesome. 633 00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:10,000 Speaker 1: I love that we have a flow artist among our listeners. Um. 634 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:12,840 Speaker 1: You guys are always amazing us with all these different 635 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:16,480 Speaker 1: things that you do. Um. I will try to butcher 636 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:21,279 Speaker 1: PSK's name. Okay, p send kiddo. I think P is 637 00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:24,520 Speaker 1: the initial Okay, all we had was the email address 638 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:27,200 Speaker 1: on this one. Yeah, we apologize in advance anyway. Thank 639 00:35:27,239 --> 00:35:30,960 Speaker 1: you for running in. Yes indeed, so hey, you want 640 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,319 Speaker 1: to find out more about happiness, well, head on over 641 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:35,520 Speaker 1: to Stuff to Blow your mind dot com because we 642 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:38,839 Speaker 1: will get it to you, um happiness. That is, in fact, 643 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:41,680 Speaker 1: I visit the landing page for this podcast episode and 644 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:45,520 Speaker 1: will include links out to other podcast episodes that deal 645 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 1: with happiness and our quest for happiness, as well as 646 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,759 Speaker 1: links up to blog post videos. On the page yourself, 647 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:52,760 Speaker 1: you'll find links to all of our social media pages. 648 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:55,120 Speaker 1: You can go follow those accounts and keep track of 649 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:57,719 Speaker 1: what we're up to, and you can also get in 650 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:00,240 Speaker 1: touch with us, share your thoughts with us. Maybe even 651 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:03,760 Speaker 1: have an unusual experience that brought you a lot of happiness. 652 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,279 Speaker 1: It wasn't a trip, it was unexpected. Let us know 653 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:08,719 Speaker 1: about that, and you can email us at blow the 654 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:15,680 Speaker 1: Mind at how stuff works dot com for more on 655 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:18,240 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics. Does it how stuff 656 00:36:18,239 --> 00:36:24,759 Speaker 1: works dot com