I was reading my Working Mother magazine and came across an article about secrets to being happy. I laughed to myself, thinking how simple it would be if there were actual “secrets’ to making life better. With some healthy skepticism I read the article, and was a bit surprised at how much was actually sound advice. The article was focused on being happy at your job, but a lot of what it covered impacts life overall. I am going to give a brief summary of the two things that stood out to me.
The first thing that jumped out of the page was “Forget the Raise”. My husband and I both had to deal with potential job loss these past three months, and ended up with significant pay cuts instead, so getting a raise (or a job making more money) is high on our priority list. Yet according to this article, all of the research says that if you make too much money you end up in high stress positions that take you away from your family. The concept is you’re happier if you have the TIME to be healthy and get quality time with your kids; families who make over $70,000 a year tend to not be any happier than those who make less.
The second one that jumped out at me was “Shorter Vacations”. The research shows that people who take longer vacations are not any happier than those who take shorter ones. In fact, several short vacations seem to be better for you. If you have ever been on a family vacation, or if you have a job where your work gets piled up when you’re gone, this probably makes sense. I think about taking my kids on vacation and my anxiety goes up with all of the problems we are going to encounter. Three days is about their max, but it is enough for me to feel like I “got away”.
There were several other things covered, and I would encourage you to read the article if interested. Those jumped out at me because its seems many of us strive to make more money or to take long vacations, and the research shows that may not be the best approach. Think about the stress of finding a new job or planning a long vacation and maybe simply letting go of the IDEA of those two things can improve happiness!