You Can Buy Happiness Essay

Improved Essays
Many people say that money can buy happiness, but Tammy Strobel, the author of You Can Buy Happiness, would disagree. Early in her life, her dream was to have a high paying job and live in her large dream house that had everything a person could want in a house. She found that she was very unhappy having a desk job in the financial industry and commuting to this job every day. This job was well paying, but she still was not satisfied. She and her husband Logan turned to downsizing to try to both reduce debt and simplify their lives. Even though the process was difficult it benefitted their health and happiness. To begin to downsize, Tammy started slow because it was hard for her to give up her belongings. Once she started looking through …show more content…
I love being active and doing things outdoors. Exercise has always been such a big part of my life, which is why I decided I want to be an athletic trainer even if athletic trainers do not make as much money as related professions. It is not about the money for me; I believe that if I truly enjoy my job the money does not matter for my happiness. Last semester anytime I have excessive amounts of homework, I would work on my homework during the time I would normally go to the gym. Even though I got more school work done, I was more stressed because the work is really never-ending. Exercise is the best way I have found for myself to reduce stress. I have a consistent workout routine this semester, and I feel so much better. Although I have more classes that are even more difficult this semester, I am overall much less stressed than I was less semester when I did not always stick to my exercise routine. I know that it is more important for me to make time to exercise because of the amount that it benefits my health, so I try my best not to sacrifice my workout time for doing homework. Overall, the insights that Tammy has on how simplifying your life can make you happier makes me really think about how I am currently living. I believe that I can improve my happiness by trying out some of the things that she did. Money is not the most important thing

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Exercise is a great way to combat stress and it’s a time where you can expend excess energy. Exercise combined with eating plenty of vegetables, some protein and fiber can change the way you feel. This is especially important if you have pre-existing medical issues. It’s also a good way to avoid developing long-term health issues. I partake in a daily morning…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    We have all heard the saying, “Money can’t buy happiness.” But if this is true, why do we devote our lives to the pursuit of wealth? Psychologists, philosophers, and countless others have proposed numerous theories for what factors actually lead to happiness, and whether or not material wealth generates happiness. For example, some believe happiness comes purely from one’s mindset, while others believe behaviors and actions bring about happiness, and some believe a significant portion of happiness is genetic. Nevertheless, experts and ordinary people alike continue to debate the question of how much material wealth contributes to happiness.…

    • 1762 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Bill Phillips

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages

    American Entrepreneur, fitness guru and author Bill Phillips once said in his book Body for Life “ FOOD is the most widely abused anti-anxiety drug in America, and EXERCISE is the most potent yet underutilized antidepressant” (Phillips 167). There are many experts like Bill Phillips who are are now coming to the conclusion that exercise is the best natural way to relieve stress. Exercising the body decreases stress because it releases endorphins, loosens muscles (relieve tension) and takes your mind off of the issues. Exercise is the greatest way to naturally decrease stress because it releases endorphins. According to Sally Anderson a writer who exclusively writes about the benefits of exercise wrote in an article called “Exercise away…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Jim Rohn was an American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker who said, “Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” Happiness is not the outcome from going to one joy to the next according to research; achieving happiness typically involves times of considerable discomfort. Money is important to happiness, but it is not everything. Money buys freedom from worry about the basics in life—housing, food, clothing. What impacts how happy you are is your genetic makeup, life circumstances, achievements, marital status, social relationships, etc.…

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    PBS Argument Analysis

    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Although money and happiness correlates with one another, do they support each other or can they be separated? Some assert that money is a component that may be easy to attain, while happiness is a feeling that may be difficult and/or easy to achieve according to each situation. Most of the younger generation can quickly answer the age-old question of whether money can buy happiness or not. However, understanding the meaning of money and happiness and how they connect proves to be a difficult task. Not everyone may appreciate the value of money and happiness.…

    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    A common trait among a majority of people is the willingness to give up almost anything important for the sake of achieving happiness. In today’s world, the most prevalent goal needed to achieve personal happiness is money. People sacrifice time with their families, their moral ideals, and sometimes even their health to have the chance to earn enough money to finally be happy. Only, in practice, the things that truly make a person happy have all been sacrificed to be able to buy a big house or an extravagant car. Where is the line drawn that states the maximum amount a person can waive in the pursuit of happiness, before they simply become a never-ending cycle of work, earn, sleep and repeat.…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of the most common questions asked to kids is “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Many times in response to this kids will answer with a typical dream job: “I want to be a Firefighter!” However, we can look at that same kid twenty years down the road and find them in a cubicle slaving over spread sheets as opposed to bursting into burning buildings to save lives. The question is why? Why would someone give up his exciting dream job in favor of something so monotonous and ordinary?…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Being stressed makes it very hard to complete all of the tasks that both academics and sports require. Stress can be caused by a physical injury or fatigue combined with the fact that there is a big test first thing in the morning or a difficult project due. It is very hard to force yourself to study or complete the project when you are so tired and all you want to do is sleep. This is also a problem because if athletes do not know how to balance their time then it can start to effect their health. If an athlete is getting up early for practice and not going to bed till late they will become sleep deprived.…

    • 1358 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Happiness” In our world today there are many words with only a single meaning or definition. For example, the word pencil, it is defined as a writing utensil. Furthermore, there are words such as happiness that can have numerous meanings and values to someone or something. Also, there are countless media outlets where someone can change or adjust their definition of a single word, such as a movie or book.…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Today I choose to be happy,” how often do people say or feel this way? What is happiness? Everyone answers this question differently. Some people believe being happy means having an abundance of money and materials. Others believe happiness is when there is confidence in who they are.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Stress Management Essay

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages

    To reduce stress, one can get more exercise. Exercising helps reduce the negative effects of stress. While exercising, physical activity will help build up and train your body to prepare the body for any physical emergencies. Tai Chi, meditation, and yoga all are relaxation techniques to relax the mind and body. Managing sleep well and maintaining a healthy diet are was also a part of what a person can do to prevent or reduce stress.…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I just let myself forget the stresses of everyday life. They say that exercise helps battle stress. When you exercise it releases chemicals called endorphins. As said Reese Witherspoon on Legally Blonde “Exercise gives you endorphins.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I find that the definition of happiness depends on the person and circumstances, and to me happiness is not a mere emotion that I wish to have every single moment in my life. Happiness is a relative term that some people consider an expected result of doing good deeds, and I believe it is a memorable feeling that lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of effort and always linked to a place in some way. In order to understand what happiness is, I looked into my past and tried to find out if there is a formula for happiness. From my perspective, the level of personal happiness fluctuates depending on the situation.…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Money and material possessions does not lead to happiness because some people that are rich and have many nice things like cars and others could still be depressed. Also because someone could have money, but could also have a mental illness. For example, if a famous person is going through some metal problems and is not happy, but they still have money which is not making things better. Money could not buy friends for you to be happy and also family. This means that if you have real friends and family you wouldn't have to use your money to make them be your friend or family.…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Money Doesn’t Always Buy Happiness Today in our day and age, there has been one topic that comes up that has been a controversy for people all over the world: money. Scientist have studied that, “Money does buys happiness, but it buys less than most people think,” (Dunn, Gilbert, Wilson, 2011, pg. 115). Some people believe that the more money that they have, the happier they will be. Others believe that money is the epitome of unhappiness because it can cause a barrier between them and those around them. Depending on how he or she use the money, happiness is determined on how the person decides to spend it.…

    • 1914 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays