Samuel Johnson's Essay: Money Doesn T Buy Happiness

474 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Can money make happiness essay

"Money can't buy you happiness." Whether by greed or self-satisfaction, we all sustain a process to achieve and fulfill a void, called satisfaction. Satisfaction is a pleasurable feeling of success, the one thing that could keep a person living. Living to fulfill will depend on where the person's values stand and it's not the same for everyone.

Samuel Johnson says, "Our desires increase with our possessions," making a compelling statement towards the less fortunate. They believe, and are convinced, that what they possess is enough, only their desires will help maintain it's quality of what they already have. We don't always believe that materialistic things could satisfy our needs, that the simplest gestures would have a higher value. Satisfaction of our standards is feeling compassionate towards the people we love and gaining their support that fulfills our personal enjoyment. This is a definition of natural happiness, that could be neither be bought or auctioned. …show more content…

We all have a natural tendency to want and need things to comfort us as human beings. Samuel Johnson indicates, "The knowledge that something remains yet unenjoyed impairs our enjoyment," for those who have the ability to purchase or gain such materialistic things to fulfill their needs. Once gaining they had most desired, a sudden feel of a deceived accomplishment to need more of it to maintain that pleasurable feeling, but it's only temporary, like adrenaline. As children, we comprehended a moral story, "A Christmas Carol," of a greedy and selfish character, Mr. Scrooge, who values wealth and tangible things over relationships and compassion. As he succeeded more wealth, he didn't live a happy life. He didn't find an answer that would fulfill his happiness immediately and then he isolated himself from the people around him, making his life plain and unsatisfied. Replacing the luxury of human interaction for materialistic items is doable,

Show More
Related

  • Cyranos De Bergerac Wealth

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    A well-known expression is that money can’t buy happiness, yet people fantasize of winning the lottery, living in their dream house, and possessing enough tangible objects to feel satisfied with their lives. Most are under the preconceived notion that the absence of wealth and power translates to hardship and despair. This, however, is not the case, because a self-effacing lifestyle is not an indication of a lower quality of life, and often is better than one of great fortune. People yearn to have the financial independence and capabilities of those in higher ranking positions, and are willing to abandon their morals and own personal well-being if it means being successful. It seems that by reaching a level of wealth in which money is no longer

    Read More

  • Greed In The Odyssey

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” -Erich Fromm

    Read More

  • Perfection Anxiety Analysis

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Article “Perfection Anxiety” written by A.A Gill illustrates through his findings, that while the means to have everything you desire is by no means bad , neither is it the best. Throughout the article he talks about the phenomenon of “perfection anxiety”, a condition causing it’s host’s feelings of significant ennui, a circumstance found within the abhorrently wealthy portion of the world’s citizens. This psychological disorder is found to occur when the incomprehensibly rich have realized essentially, that they have run out of things to spend their money on, continuing to spend only to appease the ever imposing expectations and judgments of the wealthy.

    Read More

  • Defining Success

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    For some, happiness is all that matters. Happiness is achieved in many ways, and it doesn’t always involve money. There are many things that contribute to making a person feel happy and successful. One can feel successful without a lot of money at all. For example, feeling loved is something that makes everyone happy. Many believe that without love life is not thoroughly complete, thus never truly achieving success. Ones line of work can also affect how happy he is. Some feel that it is more important to enjoy work and get less money than it is to hate work and get paid more. Another factor in achieving psychological success is ones ability to enjoy what life gives him. There are many qualities of life that are overlooked. Everyone is dealt family and it is important to value that.

    Read More

  • Wealth Vs Wealth

    1512 Words  | 4 Pages

    However, as already seen, the relationship between income and general life satisfaction was mainly explained by whether material aspirations (such as buying luxury goods) could be fulfilled.” In other words, one’s concept of happiness can vary from nation to nation. For example, people living in poor nations and having a low income tend to be satisfied by having just enough to meet their necessities. While, on the other hand, people with higher income tend to be satisfied if they have enough to buy luxury goods. Being wealthy does not lead one to happiness; it can help some people to obtain happiness, but it can also lead others to have unwanted experiences.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: What Does Money Can Buy Happiness?

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    As money can be really important, alongside to food to eat, a house to live in, and places to go from here to there, but for all of those things, you need money. So that’s when “money can buy happiness” expression comes in because many people think that since money can buy everything they want in life, then it can easily buy happiness. My parents lived a decent life style, they had the amount of an average person in Amman Jordan. Meaning that we weren 't filthy rich, but we also weren 't poor either. The amount of money we had was enough to make us happy. We didn’t struggle with anything like food or other necessities we needed. My parents always say that "it’s better than nothing" because looking at others who don’t have much money makes me

    Read More

  • Cause and Effect Essay - Money Causes Unhappiness

    512 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is a thought-provoking book about the pursuit of material goods. Kasser is not a preacher, but a scientist. He presents his evidence carefully, and concludes that materialism is a game not worth playing even on its own terms of promoting human happiness.

    Read More

  • Materialism Essay

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    The general idea of materialism is through conspicuous consumption, whereby the satisfaction derived from the product through the reaction of the audience, rather than personal utility use (Flouri, 1999). Materialistic tend to focus on the purchasing of “status goods” that impress other people (Fournier and Richins, 1991).

    Read More

  • Money And Happiness Essay

    2945 Words  | 6 Pages

    Money and Happiness are two things that we have all given a lot thought. We put lots of effort into these two things either trying to earn them or trying to increase them. The connection we make between money and happiness is strange because they are two very different concepts. Money is tangible, you can quantify it, and know exactly how much of it you have at any given time. Happiness, on the other hand, is subjective, elusive, has different meanings for different people and despite the efforts of behavioral scientist and psychologist alike, there is no definitive way to measure happiness. In other word, counting happiness is much more difficult than counting dollar bills. How can we possibly make this connection? Well, money, specifically in large quantity, allows for the freedom to do and have anything you want. And in simplest term, happiness can be thought of as life satisfaction and enjoyment. So wouldn’t it make sense that the ability to do everything you desire, result in greater satisfaction with your life.

    Read More

  • Essay: Can Money Can Buy Happiness?

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is highly debated, but ultimately incorrect. The closest correlation found on this topic was in a study conducted by Stanford, an Ivy League business school. With their findings, we can concur that the only way money can make someone truly happy, is by spending it in constructive ways to help others. With that, it is safe to say that if someone finds themselves unsatisfied with their live and wealth, that they could use it for the greater good. They should put it into charities, or as simple as buying a friend a meal. Whatever it may be, use the money for others. And that is really how money can buy

    Read More

  • How Does Money Buy Happiness Essay

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    What exactly is happiness anyway? Happiness is when you feel complete and satisfied. It is when you’re content with where you are and what you have. It is the joy of doing something you love, or spending time with someone you love. It is an emotion and the best one yet. Money can easily make a person temporarily happy with the possessions it can buy, but true happiness is more than that. People can have everything material wise and still not be happy. Sure it can buy you many things, but the happiness from it is only temporary and limited. There’s only so much happiness you can buy with money. Money can easily buy you food, a clock, a house, education, make-up or medication; however it can’t buy you nutrition, time, a home, knowledge, beauty or health. It can buy you infatuation, but not love, acquaintances but not friendship and hierarchy but not respect. People spend their entire lives trying to make more and more money thinking that it means success. They neglect family and friends, don’t care about who they take down to reach their ...

    Read More

  • Speech on Happiness

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    When none of us has ever come across such words and formulas, none of the great personalities has ever mentioned it, then who the hell has instilled it in our minds that money brings happiness. But among this debate one question still raises its head - What is happiness? Happiness is not actually leading a luxurious life but the luxury of living a life. Happiness is not actually about expanding your business, but it lies in expanding the horizons of life. Happiness is not having a meal in the most famous restaurant but to have it with your most beloved family. It does not lie in attending honorable parties but to attend a party with honor.

    Read More

  • Success and Happiness: A Personal Reflection

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    Now how does a person go about being happy, well let us examine one of the most common questions in reference to happiness, “can money buy happiness?” most people would say “yes.” The answer to this question will almost always be yes, because society and humans in general tend to be greedy creature always wanting more, from a better house to finer foods there is and always will be more to obtain. But is having these things what makes humans happy or is it the success of achieving your own...

    Read More

  • Money Can't Buy Happiness

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some have even suggested that this moderate connection might be exaggerated. In reality, money might have very little to do with happiness at all. Most puzzling, though, is that people often seem aware at some level that money won’t make them happy. And yet they continue to work away, earning money they don’t objectively need. First, though, let’s look at the three reasons money doesn’t make us happy.

    Read More

  • Money Can Buy Happiness!

    1541 Words  | 4 Pages

    I never really thought the expression, “money can’t buy happiness”, was true. As an infant, just by observing the people around me, I observed when they would obtain money and a huge grin would spread across their face, the corners of their smile spreading from ear to ear. Whenever I would see that grin and a person’s face light up at the sight of a crisp, green bill it would make me believe that I had proved the famous expression wrong. Now that I’ve grown up and matured, my idea of that expression has changed. As of now, I am able to reflect on life more and look deeper into things and particularly into people more than I was able to do years ago. My ideas about this expression changed the most though because of the money situation my family had stumbled upon because of the failing economy. I remember being younger when the economy was doing well and waking up to twenty gifts for each of my three sisters and I. We used to believe that all of those presents, brought in because of money of course, were the best part of waking up on Christmas. Of course all of those toys and material items would make a child happy; however looking back it would only make them happy if it was given to them by somebody who bought it for them with love.

    Read More

More about Samuel Johnson's Essay: Money Doesn T Buy Happiness

Open Document