Living With Purpose Can Unlock All Kinds Of Wellbeing & Success!

Jun 2, 2015 | Prosperity

do what makes you happy

Today, I wanted to share a few cool ideas and some research about wellbeing, wealth and happiness.

Can money make you happy?

Yes. We all know it can. 100%. Yes.

That said, it’s been statistically proven that money only “buys” more happiness to a certain degree. Once your needs are met to feel secure and stable, free and at ease in life, the “happiness factor” of earning more money depends, in part, on your sense of purpose.

There’s a popularly quoted study that explains how money does not correlate to happiness once you are earning over $75,000 a year in America. That study has been refined and expanded because, well, in today’s world, that $75,000 may not really pay the rent, nevermind a mortgage. HERE is a more expanded chart which doesn’t take into account kids or pets or any special life factors like enormous student loan debt or other considerations.

The really big takeway from this isn’t the dollar amount (which I would say is about double, perhaps triple, what the chart says, at first glance), but, rather, that there’s a breaking point where pure money gains and just a motivation for more money won’t contribute to your greater happiness if you are unhappy in the ways you are making money.

If you do love the ways you make money, there is a sense of purpose beyond purely earning money. And, that sense of purpose and connection opens doors to higher levels of abundance with greater ease.

No matter what you are earning, a larger sense of purpose lights up your life.

Living in flow is a big deal. In feng shui, its all about being in the “flow state” that people seek, and living in that space most of the time with your environment supporting your flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has studied the “roots of happiness” and found in part that the real reward of life is loving what you do:

Exercise is one huge way to boost your creativity.

If you are relatively fit, a single trip to the gym or a great workout can boost your creativity and problem solving skills. THIS Dutch study explains the way that hopping on a stationary bike can help you to come up with great ideas and solve problems.

No matter who you are, or how fit you are, exercise makes your brain more awesomely pliable and dynamic. Fast Company explains in this brilliant piece, The Creative Brain On Exercise:

“As Dr. John Ratey noted in his seminal work Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (2008), exercise isn’t just about physical health and appearance. It also has a profound effect on your brain chemistry, physiology, and neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to literally rewire itself). It affects not only your ability to think, create, and solve, but your mood and ability to lean into uncertainty, risk, judgment, and anxiety in a substantial, measurable way, even though until very recently it’s been consistently cast out as the therapeutic bastard child in lists of commonly accepted treatments for anxiety and depression.”

Living with purpose may help you to stay healthier and live longer.

You know the difference between waking up and dreading what is in front of you versus waking up and loving your day.

I was really taken by THIS article by Dr. Sanjay Gupta that explains a few strong correlations between living a life infused with meaning and purpose and greater overall wellbeing and happiness.

Pure money motivation isn’t often enough to get to the nirvana known as ‘feeling fulfilled.’

Yes, you may need to wake up right now and go do a job that isn’t your dream. That’s OK. You have likely about 14 more hours in the day- 6 or 7 after sleeping well- to do things that light you up right now.