Money Can Buy Happiness

If you think that money can’t buy happiness then you aren’t spending it right. In his TED Talk, Michael Norton proves that more money does not equal more happiness, but more giving does.

He conducted an experiment with people across the world, giving people $5 or $20 and asking some people to give the away money and some people to spend the money on themselves. The people who spent the money on themselves had the same level of happiness before and after the experiment. People who gave them money away, across the board, had a higher level of happiness afterwards.

Not only does giving increase ones happiness it also increases their performance. Sales teams who spent money on each other sold more products than teams who spent the money on themselves. Dodge ball teams that spent money on each other ended up dominating the league and beating opponents who had, had the same chances of winning before the experiment was conducted.

Money spent on oneself will not change the individual’s happiness or the world’s, but giving money to others has the capacity to change both.