It’s often said that money can’t buy you happiness. At the same time, you wouldn’t be alone in dismissing that old adage as a platitude, given the fairly dramatic rise in the cost of living in recent times and the constant temptation to spend, spend, spend. If you were thinking along these lines, you may imagine that having a high-earning job would be the first step on the path to life satisfaction, but – thankfully – it turns out that the old adage is closer to the truth than it is often given credit for. According to research by Princeton economist Angus Deaton and Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman, the happiest people in the world earn no more than £50,000. “No matter where you live, you can’t get emotional wellbeing much higher just by having more money,” says Deaton.
It is important that you get satisfaction out of your job, certainly, but we have become used to viewing Herculean efforts at work as the sure-fire route to success and, by extension, more money. Actually, if you can find a role that engages your talents, piques your curiosity, involves some effort, and gives you more than you need to simply subsist, you’ll find a quiet joy in fulfilling it.
Working at full tilt is largely futile. Neuroscientists have shown that constant stress leads to cortisol production by the adrenal glands. This results in feelings of anxiety, which can lead to various psychological problems, chipping away at your ability to be productive and focused. In other words, overwork really is a waste of your time and precious energy. Better to genuinely disengage from work when you’re not on the job. That covers everything from easing up on your smartphone habit, if it is keeping you virtually tied to your workplace, to changing out of work clothes when you’ve finished the day.
It’s an irony that you achieve more at work when you really switch off from it, too. One of the most important ways of doing that is getting enough sleep. As business writer and chief executive Margaret Heffernan says in her book, A Bigger Prize: “The brain you take to bed is not the brain you wake up with. When we are asleep, our minds consolidate, organise and review recent memories and experiences – and that restructuring produces insights.”
Louise Chunn is the founder of welldoing.org, which matches you with the therapist or counsellor most suited to your needs
Joy will take you further
Inspired by a specially commissioned paper by psychologist and happiness expert Dr Matt Killingsworth, Johnnie Walker, along with global ambassadors including actor Jude Law and Jenson Button, is embracing the idea that it is the pursuit of joy, rather than money or status alone, which will take you further.
Discover more about Johnnie Walker and how embracing joy will take you further at johnniewalker.com or head to Johnnie Walker on Facebook
