The Julio Blog

Money, happiness, or finding meaning in life, we all have something we strive for.

Yuval Noah Harari’s “Sapiens” takes the readers through history from the first signs of religion, the agricultural revolution, and the industrial revolution. On the chapter on happiness, he takes us through what we know about happiness.

There are different ways of thinking about happiness from economists, capitalists, biologists, and more in between. I will keep it short and sweet but I definitely recommend the book too. Here are some key points.

Money does equal happiness… up to an extent. If a single mother makes $20,000 a year then she would love to win a lotto of $500,000. It could change her life! However, if an investor who makes $250,000 a year wins the same $500,000 lottery, then he would only be happy for a much shorter time(maybe to share the news with buddies). The Author shares that $70,000 to $100,000 is the range people are most satisfied with where they are at.

Charles Darwin, the Author mentions, also would share that humans are chemical creatures with instincts. Happiness is just serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin being released and that humans focus on what gives us pleasure. But what about heroin addicts who are in fact focusing on pleasure?

So if money is not happiness nor pleasure, then what is?

Nobel Prize winner in Economics, Daniel Kahneman found that people found happiness in doing the tasks they favored the least… Yes, we read that right. People would rate changing a baby’s nappie, dealing with tantrums, and cleaning the mess they make at dinner something they disliked doing. But these same people would confirm their child is a main source of their happiness. Do not worry, this does not mean we find happiness in labor.

When looking at history, Harari notes people are no happier today than we were before the industrial revolution. Whether that is due to our chemical limits or we are too busy to be present. But what we do agree on is this. Chasing the next rush, the status, or the wealth will only satisfy happiness chemistry for the short-term. Instead, we should actually learn from what Buddhism and a combination of the rest.

1. Happiness comes for within. (Chemically but also not to chase)
2. Searching for happiness will lead to a tiring endless chase.
3. Money, Health, Status can help us feel happy to an extend and leaves us look for the next rush after achieved.
4. Buddhists preach is that human suffering comes from the endless chase. Instead, happiness and feelings are independent. We should practice being mindful of our urges for more.

The Author leaves one more note on the subject. True happiness comes from knowing yourself. The feelings you have will come and go. What do you they say about yourself?