When I was a young man I tried to believe that a big house, lotsa cars and toys and bucks, etc., etc., led to happiness. Have you found that to be true?
by 
philosopher-saint
ANSWERS: 19
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Hahaha! Noooooo! It may for some but not for me.
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They lead to a more comfortable life. Happiness is a separate issue. You can be rich, poor, or middle-class and be happy, miserable, somewhat contented, etc. There are too many variables in our minds and experience to conclude there is any formula to happiness.
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i dunno... i havent got there yet so i cant tell you ;p ill let you know! im happy now but who is to say i wont get HAPPIER =]
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i found that u dont need much 2 b happy u just need frends family and basically ppl who care about you .... i believe that material things just corupt a person from who they really are
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happines comes from within as Im sure you know philosopher, but for some, the addition of those types of material 'toys' add to the pleasure scale :)
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The current scientific understanding (such as it is) asserts that more wealth = more happiness up until about typical industrialized world middle class status. After all, it's easier to be happy when one is fed, sheltered, clothed, and relatively safe than when one is hungry, homeless, naked, and fearing for one's safety. However, additional wealth beyond this does NOT correlate with additional happiness.
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I don't know. I haven't had a chance to test that theory yet! ;)
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I don't have all of those things and I'm pretty happy. Good Friends and someone to love is all you really need.
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I never had that luxury darlin... Literally and figuratively.
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No, being able to look in the mirror means more to me.
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They don't LEAD to happiness. I have a lot of cars and toys and motorcycles etc. and I get a great deal of happiness from them, but I was already happy.
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If you are happy to begin with perhaps yes. I have found that I need to be happy with who I am, where I am, and what I have been given.
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It's OK, but they are just more of diversions than anything else. The biggest pain in the butt is maintaining all that junk. Get a bigger boat, you need a bigger house on the water. Get another car, you got to add another garage, blah, blah, blah. Not to mention, the more stuff, the more things to break, get fixed or repaired. I am OVER it! I'm downsizing now, it's just a pain in the ass to maintain so much stuff. It's nice to have different toys for different moods or distractions, but you can only use so much stuff and most of it sits around unused. I would say, get a hobby, and a single toy and be happy with it! More junk is just more work and more problems! So the happiness of getting all that junk is basically offset by the pain of having to maintain it and manage it!
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Having enough money can get you out of jams that might otherwise be quite unpleasant. But it certainly isn't the key to happiness. Michael Jackson sure didn't strike me as a happy man.
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I musta thunk it many times, due to being poor most of my life and envisioning not being poor and having all this neat shit when I could afford it. So that eventually happened, at least to a degree, but I quickly figured out that video games and books can't be eaten when you're hungry, and you're not happy if you're hungry, that's for sure.
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its still true.
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NOT ... Having Someone SPECIAL in your life is First ; then go after the material things TOGETHER .. +5
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Hmmmmm, interesting question. I haven't reached the "lotsa cars and toys" stage yet. I can say with confidence that earning a decent, 6 figure income does bring some freedoms though. I am happy with that. I reckon I could live happily on much less if I were: 1. always doing what I loved doing and... 2. living somewhere I did not often want a holiday from (eg: beach rather than city).
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No, in fact it's almost the opposite. Possessions tend to eventually own you in more ways than one, as does money. It's human nature to want to prepare for the eventualities of the future, but it's best for your spirit if you live simply, have few possessions, and give a sizeable portion of your income to the poor.
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