First, read this article. FastCompany: How to be happy anywhere
Then think twice: why do YOU think that people seem to be more unhappy the more they possess?
I came to conclude, that happy people are an unwanted species – at least from an economic point of view: “Unhappy people are the fuel of an economy that is determined to eternal growth.”
Did you ever wonder why the evening news are followed by the best paid commercials? – It follows a simple yet intriguing logic: the news tell you how bad this world is – and buying the latest gadgetry will make you feel OK again.
Lets face it: Happiness has no lobby, since there is no economic interest in happy people. The worst thing that could happen to a market driven economy would be a society that dwells in happiness, without any interest to participate in the rat race of limitless consumption.
So what is left for us to do? Surrender to a programmatic uneasiness, where only the good consumer has a right to call oneself ‘happy’?
Wait a minute – it’s not that hopeless. We still have our free will. We may decide to detach from media and marketing that keep selling us the keys to happiness. And we can search for alternatives, to find our own keys to happiness, to find our wealth and happiness within ourselves…