What do you do when you have a bit of extra cash? Do you go to the shops and splurge on something that will make you happy for the rest of the day? Or do you save that money and wait to spend it on visiting somewhere new?
Most of us would fall into the first category. We’ll buy something that makes us feel happier for a few hours instead of putting that money away. However, that may not be the best way to improve your own happiness. According to science, traveling brings us more joy than possessions do.
Real Joy Isn’t That Hard To Find
Traveling is the one thing that you can never waste money on. Likewise, according to researchers from Cornell University, it’s also the best way to create joy in your life. During their research, they found that the happiness that people felt when going on a trip or buying something was the same. However, the joy from the purchase declined after time, whereas the joy from the trip didn’t.
This makes a lot of sense since traveling gives us so much more than just an object. It gives us experiences, memories, and stories to tell our friends and family. You may forget that Gucci bag that you bought 6 years ago, but you’ll never forget the time that you went to Bali.
Contrary to popular opinion, material objects are pointless in the grand scheme of things. Despite that, there are some things money can buy that will bring you true joy. No, I’m not talking about paying for some expensive, rare, item. I’m talking about experiences, and thankfully, you can pay whatever you can afford for those.
Material Goods Don’t Mean Anything
Sure, buying something new makes you feel better for a while, but that satisfaction doesn’t last very long. Soon, the joy that you felt from buying that object disappears. After that, all you’re left with is the object that now doesn’t mean much to you anymore.
Once that satisfaction disappears, we move on to the next thing. We’ll see something that we want and obsess over it. Then we buy it, we forget about it, and the cycle repeats. Possessions can never buy you happiness because you’ll always want more.
Real joy in life comes from within yourself. If you want to be truly happy, you need to learn how to create your own happiness. Most importantly, you need to stop looking for it from other places such as material possessions.
It may be tempting to spend your hard-earned cash on a new phone, fancy clothes, or some other material item. Despite that, the better choice will always be to travel. In the long run, it will give you so much more than objects ever can. So, plan a trip to a nearby town, to another state, or even to Europe. Wherever it is, you’ll thank yourself for it later.
Share this article with your friends and family to show them that real happiness comes from traveling, not from things.
