Happiness it boils down to this simple equation:

Pleasure + flow + meaning = happiness

With this formula the fleeting and passing nature of pleasure sticks around for longer. By this I mean if you are really engaged, focuses and engaged in what you do then you’ll enter a state of flow. You know you’re in a state of flow because:

* are completely focused on the task at hand;
* forget about yourself, about others, about the world around you;
* lose track of time;
* feel happy and in control; and
* become creative and productive.

The meaning of your life has to come from within you, rather then it be imposed on you by others. This is what’s called living an authentic life. While we adapt quickly to more money and material possessions, it seems we adapt less quickly, if at all, to meaningful things. This is also a vital component of contentment, because essentially you are not connected to your innermost self.

Without that connection, it’s hard to feel a true meaning in some part of your life, and without the connection it’s hard to feel happiness, other than the transient pleasure from time to time as described earlier, that most of us have mistaken for real happiness.

Money comes with a whole set of new elements that may have good or bad impact on our happiness, and depending on how susceptible we are to every one of them, the conclusion will go one way or the other (i.e. different from person to person). I recently made an effort to provide a more comprehensive picture of what these ad- and disadvantages are. I invite you to have a
look at Money and

Happiness and tell me what you think!
Thank you, Nick

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