If I ask what makes you happy, I could get a variety of answers. For some, it’s a party, others its food and for someone else, it could be their work. It is generally assumed that everyone in this world is looking for money to be happy. Is it true?
According to the London School of Economics, this is a false assumption. They have conducted a survey of 2,00,000 people across the globe, which has revealed that being loved makes people happier than being rich.
By rating the responses on a scale of 10, LSE saw that increase in pay brought the scale only to 0.2 while having a partner brought it to 0.6. This itself is great evidence of what matters most to people. It is not only true for adding happiness to life but is also true the other way around.
The loss of a loved one gives greater pain to the loss of money. The same research also threw light on the fact that people suffer more from depression or anxiety than from unemployment. These problems in turn reduce happiness by 0.7 points.
The research also focuses on other factors that contribute to making a person happy. It has been found that trust and freedom are key elements of happiness. People who feel trusted and experience freedom are happier than those who don’t.
Being so crucial to the overall wellness of humankind, this issue will be discussed at a conference on well-being at LSE, which is co-organized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. So what is your idea of happiness? Tell us what you think!
