You Can't Buy Happiness, but you Can Experience It!

What price tag would you put on happiness if it came on a shelf? How much money would you put aside to save for it? What would your financial limit be on it? And what amount would be "just too much" to spend?

A recent study came out that had me pondering these questions. The study came to the conclusion that happiness comes from experiences we have versus things we acquire that are tangible. Not a breakthrough idea, but nonetheless, something to think about.

We are about to depart the summer month of August to welcome the beautiful fall season and the pre-show of another long winter. All I've heard from people recently is how quickly this summer has flown by! There are officially 18 weeks left to this year. What have you done to experience the first 34?

If the value of happiness lies in the experiences we have in our lives, then happiness may be more within our reach then we've ever realized. As a culture and society, we continue to invest in meaningless purchases, technology, and other things that clutter up our surroundings in the quest for happiness. If your focus is on saving up for your next purchase, upgrading your video game collection, or that new car you can't wait to own, then I would bet that when you look back over the last 34 weeks, nothing much stands out for you. We tend to get stuck in the monotony of life, filling our weekends with grocery shopping, shuffling the kids around to their hobbies, house cleaning, etc. Yesterday blends in with today and tomorrow, and the experiences you have don't seem to amount to much. It's so easy to be here because majority of the people around you are stuck in this same spot as well. 

I'd encourage you to evaluate if your priorities are in the right order. Are you creating experiences in your life that boost your happiness? Do you even know what would make you happy right now? It is important to invest time in thinking about this and ensure that you are able to answer this question. Without an answer, you will continue to blend your days together, structuring your days based on chores that must get done and putting other peoples priorities over your own. With an answer, however, you can create a vision and start moving towards it. 

One thing is for sure: the more experiences you create in your life, the more happiness you will experience. As you continue through the remainder of this year, I challenge you to find 18 new experiences, one per week, that you can plug into your calendar. Make the second half of 2011 stand out in a way that the first half didn't. If buying that new fridge or t.v. seems high on your priority list, consider taking that money and investing it in an experience instead. Buy yourself a nice weekend retreat vacation somewhere, learn a new hobby, or volunteer your time with your favorite charity.

Do something that marks this time in your life so that when you look back, you'll have a mile marker for 2011. Create a new memory that will put a smile on your face when you recall it five years from now, write down the details in a journal, or type it in a blog and share it with the world. Inspire someone to follow your lead and invest in their own happiness rather than getting stuck in tangible purchases that don't amount to much in the emotional piggy bank. We are all responsible for investing in our own happiness. Don't allow this goal to be overshadowed by our culture's and media's imprinting that encourage us to own things vs. experience moments and create new memories.

Tammy Greene is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a successful private practice in downtown Woburn.  She is currently accepting new clients and is taking requests for blog topics!  Feel free to write her at asktammyanything@gmail.com, or visit her website at www.tgperspectives.com .