Many think that getting married leads directly to more problems and stress… yet, according to a recent study, the emotional value of being married may be equal to making $100,000 a year. At least, that’s what David Brooks, author of the book Social Animal, argues—saying that, more than just wealth, social activities from joining a club to marriage are worth inestimable amounts of happiness and joy. That should come as no surprise to readers of this blog: the best things in life really don’t have anything to do with money. In fact, only striving for more and more cash can lead us to emotional bankruptcy and spiritual poverty.
The India Times reports:
LONDON: What is the emotional value of a happy marriage? Well, it may be equivalent to earning $100,000 a year, says a new book. Author David Brooks, whose latest book ‘Social Animal’ explores the importance of things that go on below our conscious awareness, calculated the “psychic benefit” of a long marriage at $100,000 a year.
According to Brooks, couples in long-term and stable marriages are “significantly more content” than those who are unmarried. “Marriage is tremendously important,” he said. “We think of ourselves as rational individuals who are driven by economic motives, but in fact we are social individuals, driven by the need for relationships.”
According to Brooks, relationships are more important than money and students should take study courses about who they might marry.
“Joining a club that meets once a month produces the same happiness gain as doubling your income,” he said. The journalist with the New York Times pointed out that people’s emotions are strongly influenced by their surroundings but that it is possible to control them.
“We have the power to educate our emotions. The art and music we listen to affects our emotions. By changing our environment we change our mind,” he said.
What do you think—why do people pursue money instead of what truly makes them happy?
