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Week 11 [1.06-7.06] How to buy happiness









Michael Irwin Norton is a professor of business administration from Harvard. In this video
you can find his speech about happiness and how money spent affect on our mood.
He presented few fascinating facts and all of them are confirmed by his research and
collected data by Gallup Institute.


Questions:
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?
Does this video change you way of thinking ?
2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?
3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?

Comments

Karol Michalak said…
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?
Does this video change you way of thinking ?
Yes, I agree, from the different perspective then the one on the video but still, the same answer to this philosophical question.

2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?
Yes, helping others is actually helping yourself in some way. I don't to go over some theories about life, but it's a bit like karma you help someone, then someone will help you too, also helping others really can cheer you up even in the darkest hour of the day.

3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that?
Yes, I try to regularly spend money on siepomaga.pl at least 20 to 40 PLN each week. It ain't much but it's honest work. If everyoune could share from their heart at least 1 PLN for another person each day, in Poland we would rally up 30 mln every day to help someone. Every single and simple thing can make a differance.

1. I agree partially. However, this is due to people's approach to spending money, and many of us have a consumerist lifestyle and spend money just to spend it. I like spending money on activities that I have never had the opportunity to experience before. Then I feel happy.
2. I agree that it is nice to make someone happy by giving them something. However, I think that we combine the making of someone's happiness with money too much, in my opinion it is much easier to buy someone coffee than to tell him something nice, e.g. what a good person he/she is.
3. Yes, I gave a child a birthday present that he wished. I did not feel happier, however, because I think that it could be spent in a much better way, e.g. we could spend the whole day together, go to the playroom or for ice cream.
Ela said…
1. 1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ? Does this video change you way of thinking ?
Unfortunately I cannot agree with this statement. If you have more money than others, it’s true, but if you don't have them, putting them away for a specific thing, but not some stupid things like coffee or new pants, and e.g. replacing windows, can give you a lot of happiness.

2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?
I think giving someone something is more fun than buying things, so I agree with Michael. However, you have to do it in moderation, buying too many presents for your children can spoil them.

3.Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?
Yes, in the last few days I gave a present, I felt very good with it, because I know that it was very needed for this person.
Andrzej Kawiak said…
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?

In my opinion, this is a silly saying, to which a sentence like "for the money of health and love you will not buy" is usually attached. Nowadays you buy health, especially when you're sick, love can also be bought, it's easier to find a girl like you are rich. But suppose you can't buy it. Accusing money of not being lucky because you don't buy health or love is like accusing cars of not flying. if you are lucky and you find a good job, you have money.

2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?

He talks about basic phenomena in psychology. He talks the most about the Rule of Reciprocity, it's a rule that people follow. It is said to reciprocate with a person who has done something for us. This rule is very strong and universal, we acquire it very early in the process of socialization.

3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?

I haven't given a gift to anyone recently.
Bartosz Barnat said…
I think that money won't give you happiness but your mindset will. Money can help you with reaching your goals and make you happier but only if your mindset is good and you know how to not ruin your life because of money. I kinda agree with what he is saying but I have my own thoughts in my head and I don't think anything or anyone can change it. I have given a lot of gifts to my friends and family recently. I tend to spend my money on someone because it makes me happy when they are happy and can appreciate my good intentions. But I always keep in mind how much money I can spend.
In my opinion 20/40 PLN each week it is such a generous gesture. In longer perspective it has a big impact. I am really glad you do it... Did you also took part of hot 16 challenge action to collect money to fight the coronavirus ? :)
Anyway it seems to me that you gave him great joy. Maybe next time you should do the other option ? I definitely agree with you it could be also great way to make awesome memories... :)
Aleksander said…
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?
Does this video change you way of thinking ?
In a half. you can't buy happiness but it is also a truth that this common saying is mainly for the people who have must not afford/care about money. I understand that there is plenty of poor, happy people, but wouldn't it be easier if they have money?
2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?
I believe in karma and that's why I believe that sharing with others what we have, would always return with more positive energy to live.
3. Did you give someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?
Yes, I gave. I like such a small thing and enjoyed that moment very much. After all, there is nothing better than seeing someone's smile :)
1. I agree with this sentence because money can’t buy long term happiness because when buying a thing dopamine receptors triggers and this feel awesome but after time it’s just nah.
2. I agree with things he said because altruism is a form of egoism what is shown in his presentation. When people buy something for others(altruism) they became happier(egoism).
3. No i didn't give anything to anybody. I am the biggest egoist and even when i give someone something i want something in return.
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?
Does this video change you way of thinking ?

I agree with it only to some degree. That's true that having a lot of money is a necesity of being happy. It doesn't also mean that all wealthy people are happy. The point is that true happiness is much more complex and material things are not able to give you such feeling of fulfillment. You can however give other people joy by giving them presents or helping them out and that brings us much closer to happiness.

2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?

Michael is right that giving gifts can cause people to feel joy. Of course it doesn't mean that the more gifts you give the happier you are. It is not so easy. The most valuable thing that you can give to other people is time and without this factor gifts are not that powerful.

3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?

I gave my friend a small gift for his birthday but it wasn't much of surprise because it seems like tradition by now. I have, however, given my Mum something that was not expected at all. I created a visualisation of her dream kitchen in VR and thanks to that she was able to see how to renew her own kitchen. It was fun.
Yuliia Sauliak said…
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?

I agree on that to some extent, because money can bring you a short-term hapiness. I would not say it doesn`t bring any happiness that is the matter of how you earn and how you spent as per their experiments as well.
Does this video change you way of thinking ?

This video hasn`t changed my way of thinking, generally i had a similar way of thinking, it just proves that I am moving in the right direction, however i think there should be some limit and boundaries set on spending on other people:)

2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?

I do agree on the fact that spending on some other people might have a bigger return than spending on ourselves, i think emotionally we feel much happier to see how others enjoy what we do for them (that is my personal opinion and feeling).
3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?

Yes, I did. I feel my usefulness, happiness. I believe when you are a giver, gifts come all the time and in many different ways. Many times, much more than you expect.
Aneta Artych said…
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ? Does this video change you way of thinking ?
I don't agree with this sentence. I know that we can spend money for pleasure and it can make us feel happy, but only temporarily. When it comes to true and permanent happiness, we don't need money.
2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?
When it comes to:
-karma sharing with others what we have means caring and bringing more positive aspects
-giving gifts - can cause people to feel joy, but I believe in non material gifts as spending time together, work out with someone etc
3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?
No, I didn't have any occasion, but father's day is coming, so will see
1) It is a more complex question on which you can't simply say "agree" or "disagree". We can certainly buy happiness for someone who is in need, but their happiness is not from the fact that you spent money on them, but usually from a surprise or from the help you gave. From the above, I can say, that we are also able to buy happiness for ourselves when we need a material thing to do something. Imagine you have a hobby and you need some sort of equipment to do that. Buying it is not making you happy - especially because you have to pay - but using that can give you much joy.

2) I agree with what he says. Especially examples with buying something for $15 compared to the money spent on medical help that could save somebody's life was astonishing.

3) Yes, actually it was yesterday :) I did feel good especially because I know that the gift might be somehow helpful for this person.
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?
Does this video change you way of thinking ?
Yes, I agree with this sentence. We can’t buy happiness for money. Many people who won on lottery aren’t happy. Many of them lost families and friends. This video shows me that if we gave someone present then we can be happy. Helping someone make us happier. Spending money for good reason to help someone in need make us feel better. In this point we probably can say that we buy happiness but I'm not so sure.

2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?
I agree with Micheal that giving someone something make us happier. In most all countries people are very happy when they can share with someone. Thanks to our money we can do many good things to help people in the world.

3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?
Unfortunately not, but I remember what I felt when I gave someone a present. I was very happy when I saw smiling face. It was a great feeling. This person was very happy. I never forget this day and this emotions.
1 / Yes, I often hold this opinion. Although comfort depends on a monetary income, it is quite difficult to achieve it and the feeling and feelings of inner happiness. And so you need to look for sources of inspiration ... But for some, the very fact of having a certain amount of something, even money. May bring a feeling of happiness.

2 / I think that this topic has many options for the development of the discussion, but I can agree with this statement in the video.

3 / I really love to share happiness with others, this was a few weeks ago. I just met my friend and gave her a souvenir, as I bought it, thinking that she should like it ...
Kyrylo said…
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?
Does this video change you way of thinking ?
Kind of. Though there were moments when I was genuinely happy after a new purchase.
2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?
For the most part, yes.
3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?
No, I haven't. I have nobody to give gifts actually.
Jakub Kisiała said…
1. It is hard to say. Many dreams could come true by money possession. I would also say that many people don't feel happy because of daily routine in which they try to earn money for life. If they could stay at home with family or could afford some journey. I think that is the way of improvement of life. In conclusion, I would rather say that money is on the lower level of needs than happiness. So I think some kind of this think may be true.

2. I would rather say that his vision of happiness could be true for some people. But I would not describe this as recipment for happiness.

3. It is always nice feeling to give gifts. I especially rate quality of gifts by amount of time which giver put in it. I don't like expensive gift without needs of any effort to prepare them.
Kgajewska said…
1. It's too complicated question to simply answer it with yes or no. It all depends on someones lifestyle and mindset. It's all about perspective and value systems. For someone sentence "You can't buy happiness" will be true, because in the end things without price that matters. On the other hand, some will say "yes, but"... but money means secure, safe and stable life. We can't buy happiness but we can buy holidays on which we will rest and create fantastic memories with our loved ones. We can't buy happiness when we think about having money as ultimate "goal".

2. yes, I think i can generally agree with him, sharing/giving and helping others can be a source of happiness/positive karma

3. To be honest no, I didn't have the chance or idea for giving a gift. But I love almost everything about giving gifts. It's like seeing that somebody is caring about you. I hate when I'm trying to pick the best gift for someone and in the end this persone gives me some "lazy"/not matching my personality/needs gift. After giving a present it's always nice to see that my action brings some happiness to someone.
Pawel Bluszcz said…
1. I do not agree with this sentence. I think money can buy happiness. Not every "level of happiness" such as love, but thanks to money we are happy, for example, by giving someone presents.

2. I agree with Michael. Making others happy is a wonderful thing.

3. Yes! Recently I bought a "Kinder surprise" (a chocolate egg), which made her very happy. If I make someone happy I also feel happy.
1. Yes, I agree, however I also believe that there is a level of income below which it is very difficult to be happy, constantly trying to survive. I think that donating money to charities, or people in need to fulfil our own desire to be happy is selfish. We should help other people because that’s what everyone should do without looking for any reason to do so. What if some kind of god disabled the feeling of happiness after we help somebody? Would that mean that we can stop, because we don’t benefit from it? In my humble opinion, if we want to be worth anything as people, we should learn to do things gratuitously. Otherwise, how can anybody trust us?

2. Yes, it’s hard to disagree. Focusing on ourselves only won’t make us any happier, for sure.

3. Yes, I gave a gift to my mother on Mother’s Day. To be honest, and that’s probably not very good, but I felt nothing. It was just a duty, like any other regular occasion. I’d feel bad if I didn’t do so, and other members of the family would be mad at me, so it’s quite negative motivation. I am against any form of single days during which we have to treat somebody in a special way. We should respect our mothers and be nice to everyone every day, not once a year. The same applies to birthdays.
Maciej Szczypek said…
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ? Does this video change you way of thinking ?

I cannot agree entirely with this sentence. I believe that our lives are very complex and happiness means something else for everybody, or even it changes a few times for one person in the course of his life. In the current times, money can buy you a lot of things that make up your happiness. Can you be happy if you are unhealthy? Or imagine that you have a passion that costs a lot like horse riding or parachute jumping. The idea behind the video is very admirable, but it doesn't change my opinion.

2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?

As for my answer above, I believe that helping others is just one part that makes up our happiness. I don't know if you can ever be happy if you never help anyone but I believe that your happiness is never complete if you don't have anyone to share it with. People are definitely the most important part of being fulfilled, but not the only one.

3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?.

I like getting gifts for my dogs because they love absolutely everything that I buy for them which makes me very happy. Other than that, I am not really good with gifts, I never mind paying for them but simply I am always out of ideas.
s18716 said…
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?
Does this video change you way of thinking ?
Yes, I absolutely agree with this phrase 100%. In fact, it is difficult to say, since there is no universal recipe for happiness, everyone has their own understanding of happiness, so for a start it is worth determining what it is. But in any case, money will not make a person more happy, they can only provide them with comfort or give them some mood that will change over time, but these illusions will disappear sooner or later.

2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?
I mostly agree with Michael. Since being an altruist, a person can quickly come to understand the things that make him/her happy, and if a people helps others, then he helps themself first of all. This is very important to understand, but unfortunately not everyone thinks about it. And despite all this, helping people around you must not wait for help or rewards from them in return.

3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?
Yes, then I was once again convinced that I more like to give a gift than to receive them. I don’t know what this is connected with, but this way I get much more emotion and inner satisfaction.
Filip Bartuzi said…
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?


No, I don't. It is not the money that makes us happier. It is our own choices and motivations. Money can help us sometimes achieve our goals, but everything depends on us. This video didn't change my way of thinking at all.


2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?


I liked how he was giving us an example of every argument he gave us. Everything was checked and well documented. I do agree with Michael on some of the things he said. It was a very interesting point of view.



3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?


Sadly I didn't give anything to anyone lately, but I can remember all the birthday parties I was on. I feel really happy to give someone a gift and see that person smile. It makes me happier and it motivates me to do this again.
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?
Does this video change you way of thinking ?

Money makes a lot of things easier and more accesible but it definitely won't make us happy. More money you have - more problems you have to handle - really, if you have many you are open to a lot of opportunities and living with that is not that colorfull how it looks like

2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?

Partly yes, he did great analysis but I cannot agree with all of his thesis.

3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?

Yes, it's one of my favorites things to do, even with simples ones - and of course it isn't as match altruistic as it may look like, because seeing someone smile is priceless to me
Roman Burlaka said…
1. Did you agree with the sentence "you won't buy happiness for money"?
Does this video change your way of thinking?

I didn't and don't agree with the sentence but I also do not completely agree with the video. I was and I'm still able to become completely satisfied spending money on myself. You need only to find something that you really want to buy and some restaurants with tasty food nearby.

2. What do you think about his speech? Do you agree with Michael?

It's probable that a lot of people will be happy to spend money on others and to see others happy. First, we're social animals, second, our ego is also satisfied in such a situation.

3. Did you give someone a gift in the last couple of days? How did you feel after that?

In the last couple of days? No. I'm waiting for holydays or more money in my budget. It's hard to give gifts often without the last one.
Well it actually depends. In my opinion happiness can not be bought with money but also it is impossible to be happy with out money. Even if You have friends and loving family, how can You be happy when You can’t afford food? I agree that giving someone something can be very rewarding, but still doesn’t we buy presents for someone with money? Yes, I did give a present to someone lately and it felt good, because making other people happy makes You happy as well. To sum up I think that there needs to be a golden mean between money and happiness.
Grzegorz Rostek said…
1. Yes, i did agreed with the sentence, I don't believe that money would buy me happiness, but it can be different for someone else. The video didn't really changed my way of thinking.

2. I think that he is speaking the truth, and i agree with him.

3. Not in the last couple of days, but i like to give gifts to my friends from time to time. Usually i feel great after that, especially if they liked the gift.
Hmm i think it depends. Without money you can be truly happy but often you have to worry about bills, food and so on. Money just give you some kind of freedom and they make life easier but still it is not determinant of happiness.
Yeah i agree with you. In my opinion money just make life easier but happiness among others is related to your mindset and environment (i think about people). This is important to have awesome people around you. :)
Maciej Górczak said…
This video did not change my point of view. I truly agree with the statement that money can't buy you happiness, but it can help with obtaining it. If you have certain amount of money that let's you live in comfort, then you don't need more of it to be happy. Michael's speech was truly an amazing one, I like to listen to people that have the knowledge and ability to share it with others in an interesting way.
When it comes to gifts, I am not the best person to give them to others. It is true I gave my beloved one flowers today, but I am not the best one in this matter.
A difficult topic is discussed in the video, because luck can not be bought, you have to earn it. I think that's right, we are communists and when we buy something we become happy. Another example
they can be holidays where we usually don't get them for free and we have to work hard for them. As for the speaker in the presentation, I agree a bit but I have my methods fortunately.
Olga Bogdał said…
1. Not sure if it changed anything for me. I've always loved giving thoughtful gifts to the people I care about or supporting some charity whenever I get a chance. At some point I agree that you cannot buy happiness for money, but it also enables you to do stuff that can make you happy like travelling or doing sports or developing your passions.
2. In general I do agree.
3. I did buy a dress for my sister. It was a great feeling for me to give her this gift without any particular occasion. Moreover she liked the dress very much!
1. Did you agree with sentence "you won't buy happiness for money" ?
Does this video change you way of thinking ?

I do agree that you can't buy happiness with money. Of course that the lack of money can cause people to be unhappy, but money can only fix problems with lack of money.For some things you can't pay, sometimes we can't change anything.

2. What do you think about his speech ? Do you agree with Michael ?

I think it was inspiring, and I do agree with him. Making people happy can make us happy.

3. Did you gave someone gift in last couple of days ? How did you feel after that ?

I always feel good if I can make someone happy. Couple of my friends have had their birthdays recently, and it made me feel good to see them happy with my gifts.

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