From Sonja Lyubomirsky “The Myths of Happiness”
1, “A mountain of research has shown that materialism depletes happiness, threatens satisfaction with our relationships, harms the environment, renders us less friendly, likable, and empathetic, and makes us less likely to help others and contribute to our communities.” (p. 171)
2. “materialist report less satisfaction and meaning in their lives, have emptier social relationships, are more insecure, and less liked by other than people who are not materialistic.” (p. 154)
3. “materialistic individuals are less satisfied and grateful for their lives, have less purpose, feel less competent in general, are more antisocial, and have weaker connections with others. Indeed, when it comes to relationships, those with materialistic goals not only rate their own social interactions more negatively, but people in general rate their relationships with materialists as less satisfying as well.” (p. 171)
4. “material objects typically grow old and dull with time, until we are eager to replace them” (p. 153)
5. “material things can also make us happy- as long as we turn them into experiences. We could take along our family and friends in an adventure in our new car; we could throw a party on our new deck’ and we could practice a self-improvement program on our new smartphone.” (p.154)
6. “As we spend more of our time making money, the opportunity “costs” of reading poetry, playing catch with our child, or taking a walk with a friend become so high that it becomes “irrational” to do such things. All the more reason to learn what research has to say about how to avoid the excesses of consumption and materialism and spend money in ways that make us happy.”