A new study has found that the key to happiness is to forgo spending money on material possessions and invest in new experiences instead. Buy experiences, not things.
Why? Because when you a purchase an object—say, a new flat screen TV for example—you may be happy as you make the purchase and shortly thereafter, but the shelf life for that happiness is shorter than if you were to buy an experience—like a vacation. If you spent money on a two-week stay in Bora Bora or Bangladesh, there’d be the excitement and anticipation you’d feel leading up to the trip as well as the nostalgia factor that would set in after you returned. Every time you looked at vacation photos or retold a funny story from your trip, you’d get hit with an endorphin rush that you likely wouldn’t receive from talking about your new TV. Eventually the newness of the material possession wears off and you grow bored with it. A great and truly unique experience, however, can stay with you for a lifetime.
Researchers explain their reasoning further in this video:
Want even more reasons to travel? Read:
Study Finds Time Spent Abroad Will Make You Nicer, Less Neurotic
Travel Can Make You Live Longer
